Boulevard 0 Somerset Eagles 0

Lacklustre. Poor. Rubbish. These were just a few of the gentler expressions used to describe this score-less draw yesterday at BAA Field which saw Boulevard's league title hopes suffer another setback.

In a match neither team were able to grasp by the scruff of the neck, Boulevard failed to make up any significant ground in the race for the league championship while Eagles - second from last in the Premier Division standings - moved to within a single point of sixth-placed Devonshire Colts with a game in hand.

While Eagles players seemed content to share the spoils, the look on the faces of Boulevard's players as they left the pitch best summed up their day - especially after creating several clear chances to come away with maximum points.

Blazers will now have to beat Devonshire Cougars outright in their final league fixture next Sunday and rely on Southampton Rangers and Eagles to put paid to Dandy Town's title hopes.

From the opening kick-off, Blazers ran at the Eagles defence - missing Musceo Hunt through World Cup commitments - and nearly went ahead through a Raymond Burgess header which Adrian Burrows just barely got his fingertips to.

Blazers captain Melchisedec Gibbons was then denied a goal when his firmly hit drive from an acute angle was saved by the diving Burrows, though the striker might have had better luck with a simple lob over the advancing ‘keeper.

But after absorbing early pressure, Eagles gradually began to grow in confidence moving forward and they almost took the lead against the run of play when Jelani Butterfield sent Lamaul Crofton clear down the middle only to see his team-mate hesitate for a moment before putting his shot from an acute angle over the bar.

Having made a hash of that opportunity, Crofton nearly made amends when his clever back-heeled cross rolled untouched across the goal-mouth before finally being cleared away.

That proved to be the closest Eagles would come to scoring in the first-half and they were very fortunate not to have entered the dressing room a goal down after Blazers came close to scoring twice in the final moments, Burgess placing his shot from eight yards wide while a Chae Simmons' thunderbolt rocked the bottom of the upright.

Eagles managed to lift their game after the restart - perhaps as a result of Danny Seymour's vocal performance on the sidelines - with Crofton heading a Nakia Smith cross over the bar.

Crofton then held off two defenders down the left-flank before supplying a perfect cross for Sean Simmons who could only shoot softly into the hands of Corby Durrant.

Rodre (Piper) Wilson then fed Smith a pass in the middle but the latter inexplicably hesitated and the chance went begging.

Burrows - whose knuckles must be bruised today - was then called into action to vacate his line and punch away several threatening crosses as Blazers continued to press forward in search of a goal.

But with both teams unable to make the breakthrough, frustration began to set in with referee Richard Knight stepping in to separate the two clubs in midfield shortly after Gibbons and Eagles defender Kirk Simons got tangled.

Eagles were reduced to ten-men late in the match when midfielder Sean Dill received a second booking for a late tackle on Jermaine Pearman. But even way before then, this match had draw written all over it.

Boulevard: C.Durrant, R.Wilson, Jah.Samuels, T.Davis, T.Trott, M.Gibbons, L.Hypolite, C.Simmons, M.Parsons (J.Samuels, 73 mins), R.Burgess, M.Pace (J.Pearman, 78 mins).

Somerset Eagles: A.Burrows, K.Simons, S.Simmons, D.Woolridge, A.Lambert, S.Dill, J.Butterfield, R.Wilson, L.Crofton, N.Smith, L.Woods (I.Raynor, 70 mins).

Booked: R.Burgess (Boulevard); K.Simons (Eagles).

Sent off: S.Dill (Eagles).

Men of the match: C.Simmons (Boulevard); A.Burrows/S.Simmons (Eagles).

Referee: Richard Knight.