AFTER the North West Counties ruled that games could continue, 1874 played a goalless draw against Barnoldswick Town.

The game saw a complete contrast in play styles – 1874 had a lot of possession and moved the ball well and Barnoldswick defended excellently for 90 minutes without particularly troubling Tony Aghayere.

The game started slowly, with neither side really getting a clear shot on goal.

1874, like most games this season, played with a high tempo and passed the ball around well looking to break down a well organised Barnoldswick side.

However, 15 minutes into the game, the ever-influential Sam Hare nearly gave ‘74 the lead as his effort rattled the post and bounced out of play.

Despite a lot of 1874 pressure, Barnoldswick were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead against the league leaders as Mamadou Djabi headed his effort well over the bar to give 1874 a wake-up call towards the end of the first half.

The remainder of the half continued with 1874 piling on the pressure but not creating a clear-cut opportunity to really give the Greens a chance of taking the lead.

The second half began as the first ended, with 1874 controlling the game and battling hard against a physical Barnoldswick side.

Just after the hour mark, 1874 were only inches away from taking the lead as Lee Jackson rose well in the penalty area but his header narrowly went over the bar.

After this, it was relentless pressure from 1874, like we’ve seen so many times this season, however they could not quite find the cutting edge.

Despite this, there were still chances left for either side as a superbly struck volley from Frank Kangue nearly gave the visitors the lead completely against the run of play.

The last chance came from Lee Knight after being set up by Scott McGowan, but his shot rose well over the bar resulting in the game finishing all square.

The result means that the Greens remain top of the table, eight points ahead of Rylands with a game in hand.

Report by Matt Waters