Potters Bar Town 0
Brentwood Town 0
Ryman One North

These two sides have both been involved in some high-scoring games recently so it was a little surprising that they could not produce a goal between them at Parkfield on Saturday.

Seven of the day’s fixtures in Ryman North were postponed due to frost but this game survived a morning pitch inspection, although there was still a slight doubt about the conditions until half an hour before kick-off.

However, the decision to go ahead proved the correct one and it was only late in the second half, when the surface began to freeze again, that the players had any difficulty with the pitch.

With Ryan Doyle suspended, Ben Gracey came in at right-back for his Ryman debut for Blues and he gave a solid display, as did most of the defenders on both sides.

Brentwood had a chance in the fourth minute when Ellis Remy headed down for Steve Butterworth whose shot forced a good save from Shane MacWeeney in the Scholars goal.

Blues keeper Andy Hall had a problem with a Luke Croll cross in the seventh minute and it became a pretty even contest although both attacks were often thwarted by an offside flag in the first half.

The home side produced some good approach play, none more so than when Jose Espinoza and Elvis Balic exchanged passes in the 21st minute, a move that ended with Balic shooting wide.

Brentwood lost striker Dean Green with an injury in the 39th minute and his replacement Petrit Elbi went close to putting his team in front just before half-time, but his shot from close range in a crowded goalmouth was straight at MacWeeney.

Blues put some pressure on Potters Bar early in the second half with Gracey going close with a header from a Ross Parmenter corner and Remy connected well with a Dave Collins cross but could not beat MacWeeney.

Remy was then unlucky with a header from another Parmenter corner that dropped onto the angle of post and crossbar.

Espinoza nearly put the Scholars ahead with a close-range header well saved by Hall in the 66th minute and Hall was the busier keeper for the rest of the game.

He saved superbly from Balic in the 81st minute and when he was beaten by an effort from substitute Leon Skinner, Parmenter was on hand to clear off the line.

Both sides had to settle for a point in the end, a result that sees Brentwood, who lost defender Gbenga Sonuga with a nasty head injury before the end, in ninth position in Ryman North.