Welshpool 0 Connah's Quay Nomads 0

WELSHPOOL stayed on course for the European places after consolidating third spot with this windswept stalemate against one of their main rivals.

Manager Tommi Morgan felt it was a point gained after the two sides cancelled each other out in a keenly contested, yet scrappy affair at blustery Maesydre.

“The wind made it difficult,” he said. “Neither side deserved to lose and neither side deserved to win.

“The way the other results went, it was a point gained for us but there is still a long way to go.”

After surviving early penalty claims that Nomads front-runner Tommy Mutton had been brought down in the box, Welshpool enjoyed the better of the first period with Stuart Vernon shooting straight at keeper Paul Smith when in the clear.

Pool’s top scorer Steve Rogers twice went close to breaking the deadlock, first on 20 minutes when firing low past the far post from the right after Richard Harris had slipped a pass into his path from the edge of the box.

Then, seven minutes before the break, the striker’s header at the near post was turned onto the post by Smith following Vernon’s corner from the left.

Chances were equally scarce after the interval and the long ball was the order of the day, although the Nomads enjoyed more of the second period.

Gary Pinch headed well wide from a Paul Carvill corner, Chris Melia poked a shot past the near post while Chris Williams fired over late on after a long throw-in from sub Phil Molyneux.

But a draw was a fair reflection of proceedings, with the result more favourable for Welshpool who remain five points clear of their rivals in third place.