Larkhall Athletic 0-0 Frome

Frome moved a point further clear at the top of the Southern League Division One South table courtesy of a goalless draw against Larkhall at Plain Ham on Saturday.

With a number of players unavailable, manager Danny Greaves was forced to name both himself and assistant Neil Simons on the substitutes’ bench; although thankfully neither was called into action at any point.

Blustery conditions and a heavy pitch made it difficult for either side to put together any decent spells of possession in the first half, but with Jon Davies returning to the starting line-up, Frome always carried a threat in attack.

With both Sam Teale and Martin Lenihan absent, Davies was stand-in captain for the afternoon, and he so nearly gave his side a 10th-minute lead when his powerful shot from the edge of the box cannoned back off the crossbar.

With the wind at their backs, the Robins had the better of the early exchanges. Davies was denied at the last by a determined block after James Ollis had picked him out in the box midway through the half, but it was not until the brink of half-time that a golden opportunity to take the lead presented itself.

After latching on to a long ball from James Carey, Kane Simpson rounded Larkhall ‘keeper Shaun Semmens and looked destined to slot home, but a last-ditch block ensured the game remained level at the interval.

The home side were much improved after the break, resulting in an end-to-end second half.

Simpson passed up another opportunity to open the scoring when he raced on to an Ollis pass before shooting straight at Semmens on the hour mark, but it was Larkhall who passed up the best chance to break the deadlock moments later.

After the Robins failed to adequately clearly a free-kick played into the box, Jack Pearson-Brown clattered a shot against Carey’s post from close-range before the rebound was fired wide of the target.

Both sides pressed for a decisive goal in the time that remained, only for a combination of dogged defending and a number of misplaced passes on a difficult pitch ensuring that the contest would end score-less

Defeat for second-place Cirencester Town at AFC Totton means that the point extended Frome’s lead at the top of the league table though, and they will hope to maintain their place at the summit when they visit Mangotsfield United next Saturday.