Lancaster City 0-0 Nantwich Town

Lancaster City maintained their push for the play-offs on Saturday as they claimed a home point against fellow promotion-chasers Nantwich side.
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The Dolly Blues headed into the game looking to make it three wins on the bounce against a Nantwich side who were unbeaten in their previous five.Mark Fell gave new signing Ryan Rydel his debut after arriving during the week from League One side Fleetwood Town and it proved to be a exceptional debut for the 19 year old.Weather conditions made for a difficult game when it came to controlling the ball with numerous clearances being blown in the wrong direction. Despite this both sides maintained a level of professionalism.City controlled most of the game with the Dollies nearly opening the scoring in the opening six minutes when the ball was bounced around the Nantwich box.The first real chance of the game went to the Dabbers though when Ben Hudson slipped trying to get to a pass from Sam Ashton, but the Nantwich Town forward couldn’t get his shot on target.Chances were few and far between in the first half with Preston North End loanee Jack Armer coming close with a solo effort from outside of the box which nearly ended up in the bottom corner but was tipped around the post.Defence remained a critical factor throughout the game with both sets of defenders putting in tackles with Niall Cowperthwaite putting in the best tackle but received an ill-judged yellow card.Frustration started to kick in from both sets of supporters with the visiting faithful making plenty of noise, going forward though both sides struggled.David Norris came close to opening the scoring for the Dollies but his shot was saved by the keeper, moments later Nantwich had a chance themselves when a freekick from the edge of the box had Ashton beaten but luckily for Mark Fell the ball rattled against the bar.75 minutes in and the game looked like it was heading for a draw when against the run of play Sam Bailey tried to volley the ball from 25 yards out but his effort just missed goal.As the game entered its final stages both sides were running out of energy, long balls into the box proved to be worthless though as the wind seemed to get stronger, the final whistle sounded with the score at 0-0.