SOME goalless draws go down as classic contests - end to end action bringing the best out of two sterling sets of defenders with goalkeepers performing heroics to prevent the opposition strikers breaking the deadlock.

Salisbury City's 0-0 draw with Forest Green Rovers was no such affair.

A frantic final ten minutes of activity. which could have resulted in either side stealing all three points, barely made up for the dour 80 minutes that had been served up prior to then.

In fairness to Salisbury, the visitors, who still clearly hold play-off ambitions, had arrived at Old Sarum intent on not being beaten.

Whether the absence of prolific striker Stuart Fleetwood - sidelined through illness - swayed Jim Harvey's approach to the game remains unclear.

But a packed midfield certainly succeeded in stifling the hosts, who only rarely showed signs of combating the safety-first formation.

City boss Nick Holmes said: "A draw was probably what Forest Green wanted. They came for a point and got one.

"They came and crowded the midfield. They only had one up front but unfortunately the six in the middle didn't make it possible for us to play our game."

Following a Salisbury free kick, Matt Tubbs and Marvin Brown both had shots blocked but there was little for Whites supporters to get excited about.

Holmes had to make an early change when full back Matt Robinson limped off with a hamstring problem on 17 minutes.

Liam Feeney was deployed earlier than he has been of late with Scott Bartlett dropping back to cover for Robinson.

Daniel Carey-Bertram should have done better for Rovers on 24 minutes when he failed to capitalise on a mistake by Aaron Cook - the City skipper's mis-timed header leaving the former Hereford player in plenty of space.

A mistake in the Forest Green defence on 36 minutes then allowed Tubbs a rare run in on goal, but he shot just wide of the post from a tight angle.

Apart from a Wayne Turk strike that drifted wide just past the hour mark following a neat flick by Tubbs, there was little goalmouth action until the closing stages.

Rovers' Chris Giles latched onto a Jamie Pitman pass but struck the woodwork with Ryan Clarke looking beaten, while at the other end Cook's header forced a desperate off-the-line clearance.

The City captain was almost a match-winner in the final minute when another effort was saved on the line - this time by custodian Ryan Robinson though there were claims for handball off a Rovers player before the keeper came to their rescue.

Holmes added: "We probably created a few more chances, but it wasn't a great game.

"They had a couple of chances on the break and could even have snatched it at the end."

The result took Salisbury's unbeaten run to eight games and leaves them tenth in the table, but this game isn't one that will loom large in the memory of those reflecting on their first season in the Blue Square Premier.

"The pitch didn't help things," admitted Holmes. "It's like a lot of grounds around the country right now - the surface isn't great."