By John Baron
Ten-man Farsley Celtic secured what could be an invaluable point in their bid to avoid relegation as they drew 0-0 at home to Southport.
The Celts halted their run of four straight defeats to secure a hard-fought point against their fellow strugglers, despite the dismissal of defender Tom Allan for a second bookable offence 11 minutes from time. The Celts will be especially pleased with a solid defensive performance and a clean sheet, after conceding four in the first half against Hereford last Saturday.
The draw leaves Farsley in 19th place, three points above Rushall Olympic in the final relegation spot, and a point above Darlington in 20th.
The match itself saw little in the way of goalmouth action as both sides cancelled each other out.
The only save either keeper had to make was in the 90th minute, when Darren Stephenson’s left-footed strike was saved at the second attempt by McMillian in the Southport goal. The visitors then nearly snatched all three points two minutes later, but Bennett’s shot from the edge of the box went just wide.
The first half saw little in the way of goalmouth action, but the away side came closest in first-half stoppage time, when Hmami’s curling free kick flew over the bar.
The Celts travel to play off chasers Spennymoor on Monday, hoping to build on today’s solid display and pull away from the relegation zone.