There is an inevitable frustration surrounding a goalless draw. Unless that is you have been battered and you somehow escape with a clean sheet.

This did not apply here, as both sides gave as good as they got and in all truth, especially in the second half, the three points could have gone either way.

In no way was the game dour, but significantly, the quality in the final third was lacking on both sides.

A first minute effort, by way of a sighter, from the returning Osborne was straight at keeper Early. On ten minutes Osborne is nearly the provider as he dinks a free kick from deep to the far post, and Crowther volleys over.

It is nip and tuck otherwise, and then Early makes a mess of a Reily cross and Clayton-Phillips picks up the loose ball , and shoots on the turn but Early is well placed to recover with am ultimately comfortable save.

Worryingly, the referee was a bit too card happy in the opening exchanges, and one wondered whether this would come back to bite him later on. Thankfully it did not.

On 16 minutes, a close range effort from Perry is blocked. Sullivan then delivers on target from an angle and then delivers a cross from the byline that Perry volleys just wide of the far post.

It is good pressure from Church, but an end product is needed. Credit to Stourbridge though as they defend strongly, especially when Church recycle their corners.

Another good chance on 22 sees Wakefield in behind after a long punt upfield, and Early advances to block well one on one to concede another corner.

As the first half draws to a close, Evans is called upon to rescue his side after a smart one-two twenty five yards out releases Brazier who bears down on goal, forcing the Church number one to intervene at his near post to block the ball from close range.

Half Time : Alvechurch 0 Stourbridge 0

The second half followed much the same pattern, but there were certainly chances for both sides to claim an opening goal. A Sullivan corner leads to a scramble in the visitors’ six yard box, but the ball somehow stays out of the net, but although Church are now moving the ball around with familiar fluidity, the breakthrough continues to prove to be elusive.

For the visitors, Verma drives powerfully on target from just inside the box, forcing Evans to bring the ball under control at the second attempt before any follow up.
A superb block from Reilly late on denies Brazier what would have been a killer punch, and even into the final minutes it was still anyone’s game.. But goalless it would finish.

For Church it means that their unbeaten home record is maintained, with still only one defeat in the league so far this season. Two draws on the spin have halted the winning run somewhat, but Church are still solidly placed in the top six.