Craig Harris’ 50th match in charge of The Scholars finished goalless but keeps Chasetown in the play-off hunt, overtaking Halesowen Town with their game in hand.
Chasetown sit three points behind Sutton Coldfield and level on points with Halesowen with four games to play, with all three sides having a mixture of end of season fixtures. All three have to play a promotion challenger and all three have an opponent currently in the bottom two.
Leek, who lie just a couple of places below The Scholars in the league, went close to breaking the deadlock just after the half-hour mark when Anthony Danylyk struck the bottom of Ryan Price’s post with a shot from outside the penalty area.
Keeper Ben Chapman got lucky six minutes before the break. A Paul Sullivan shot took an almighty wicked bounce which almost deceived the Leek custodian who managed to get the slightest of touches on the ball to divert it out for a corner kick.
If Chapman had been fortunate to keep that out, there was no luck involved on the stroke of half time. Gary Hay looked destined to stab the ball home from close range, but Chapman got down superbly to his left to keep out the striker’s shot.
Just like Chasetown’s visit to Kidsgrove last Saturday, clearcut goalmouth chances were few and far between and although the general attacking play tonight was more positive than at the weekend, 0-0 did seem more and more likely with every minute that passed.
The visitors had the territorial advantage in the second half but Chasetown rode the pressure well and kept a fourth consecutive league clean sheet in the month – a factor that has been the bedrock to their emphatic form in 2013 so far.
Although some Chasetown fans may see this result as two points dropped, the point was enough to keep The Scholars interested in the play-off race, with just the three points separating the sides with 18 days of the regular season remaining.
Chasetown: Price, Farmer, Jackson, Slater, Tesfa Robinson, Teesdale, Westwood (Butler, 87 mins), Bragoli, Hay (Wellecomme, 74 mins), Sullivan, Brown (Theo Robinson, 62 mins). Subs not used: Downes, Kisiel.
Leek Town: Chapman, Smith, Bell, Thomas, Bradbury, Hall, Connor (Brannan, 62 mins), Shelley, Grice (Morris, 69 mins), Kinsey, Danylyk. Subs not used: Mellor, Bailey.
April 20:
Chasetown v Sheffield
Kings Lynn v Sutton Coldfield Town
Hucknall Town v Halesowen Town
April 23:
Halesowen Town v Stamford
Mickleover v Chasetown
April 24:
Carlton Town v Sutton Coldfield Town
April 27:
Brigg Town v Chasetown
Halesowen Town v Carlton Town
Sutton Coldfield Town v Hucknall Town
May 4:
Coalville Town v Chasetown
Halesowen Town v Lincoln United
Sutton Coldfield Town v Leek Town
Click below to see more of Dave Birt’s pictures from the game against Leek Town:
