Aveley 0 Bury Town 0

Bury Town ground out a gritty stalemate in the battle of two mid-table sides at Aveley in south-east Essex tonight.

Ben Chenery’s side have only won two of their last 13 games, and have not won on the road since a Boxing Day success at Soham Town Rangers, but they were good value for this point at Mill Field.

The Suffolk visitors, who slipped out of the play-off picture after the turn of the year, created the more clear-cut chances before defending stoically during the later stages.

Aveley have just three more matches to play at Mill Field, before moving to a new ground (Belhus) next season, and Bury will be satisfied with their last ever visit to the old ground.

Aveley created the first chance of the game, on 11 minutes. Striker Mason Bloomfield latched onto Michael Toner’s through ball and managed to turn Ollie Fenn, but his shot was well smothered by keeper Neil O’Sullivan low to his right.

Ryan Jolland spurned a good chance to put Bury ahead in the 19th minute. The winger beat keeper Lamar Johnson to a bouncing ball, but steered his shot wide of empty goal, although defenders were covering in the six-yard box.

Three minutes later and Ollie Hughes, ploughing a lone furrow up front for the visitors, looked to poised to score, only for Johnson to make a fine save from point blank range.

The game developed into a feisty affair after the half-hour mark, with the Bury trio of Leon Ottley-Gooch, Fenn and John Kennedy all booked in a three-minute period.

On the stroke of half-time, livewire Hughes warmed keeper Johnson’s hands with a well-struck angled drive. Johnson gathered at the second attempt.

The visitors continued to force the pace at the start of the second half, although Ross Gleed ballooned a shot over the bar from a promising position for the Millers.

Squads

AVELEY: Johnson, Coyne, Clark, Toner (sub Mitchell, 65), Spillane, Jaffa, Newby, Pinto, Bloomfield, Maja (sub Peart, 71), Gleed. Unused subs: Gibbs, Woodward, Paxman.

BURY: O’Sullivan, De’Ath (sub Yallop, 88), Ottley-Gooch, Fenn, Clements, Bannister, Kennedy (sub Aitkens, 62), Yaxley, Jolland, Reed, Hughes (sub Mayhew, 90).