If you followed the form book and noted City’s excellent home record and Hemel’s inability to win away when, you might have been tempted to pop down to Ladbroke’s and stake a good wedge of your mortgage on a thumping City win. A quick shufti round the Tudors’ messageboard would have convinced you of the efficacy of your investment, such was their doom and gloom before the match.  Surely, a repeat of Didcot was on the cards? A nice little three or four nil win was in order wasn’t it?

Well, no. For what ever the reason, the Lilywhites looked a jaded bunch on Monday night and played their part along with the opposition and three – ahem – controversial officials in serving up the season’s worst to date.

I would love to detain you with the highlights but sadly there weren’t any. For the factually minded, Hemel scored in the first half and City scored at the death. What happened in between should be forgotten as quickly as possible.

A little context might help. It can be argued that City were still recovering from their exertions on a heavy, muddy pitch on Saturday. A day off on Sunday, then back to work and another game that night is hardly ideal preparation. And City weren’t helped by disruption in the full back position, which saw Laurie Stewart, Matt Haniver and Angus McLachlan all have a go.

What can be said? Zac Barrett looked comfortable, although he was never really tested; the back four looked slow and ponderous; the midfield were mixed and the forwards willing but largely ineffectual. In the first half, City didn’t have a shot, although the Chesterton Community College end did receive a fair peppering of over hit crosses.

Perhaps the defining moment of the game came when John Frendo was felled in the area and felt he had an excellent claim for a penalty. What followed didn’t reflect well on any of the parties involved. Frendo ran to the assistant referee who was in line with the incident and expressed his displeasure at his performance at a volume and with a vehemence that could be heard at the back of the stand. The referee then came over to support his assistant and came to the view that Frendo’s language was out of order and went to issue him a card. Except that he had left his cards back in the dressing room.  A question: If it wasn’t a penalty, then surely Frendo should have been booked for diving and then receive a second yellow for foul language? All in all, it was an ugly passage of play that didn’t help the ref ‘s further control of the game.

The second half began with a shot on goal. Not a very powerful shot, but a shot from Frendo. This was a rare highlight. The rest of the half featured some very cynical play from Hemel who took as many seconds and minutes out of the game as possible. Goal kicks were taken with the speed of a glacier; corners took an age to arrange and if a free kick was conceded, the ball was kicked away as a matter of course. It wasn’t pretty or fair yet the ref tolerated it.

Meanwhile, City did little to threaten the away goal. Ash Fuller found his range and gave the Westbrook Centre a decent bombardment. There were  few scares in the City defence, although Barrett won’t have appreciated a throat high back pass which caused a few problems.

The three officials managed to have their say, the ref steadfastly refusing to hurry the Tudors along and the two assistants flagging for off sides in a random fashion, and I’m using ‘random’ in its correct sense here.

City maybe sniffed a chance when a new order was created following Johnathan Munday’s second yellow to give him a blue Monday, but to be honest, they couldn’t make the extra man count. When the goal came, there was a suspicion of off side, yet the hair trigger on the assistant’s arm didn’t release the flag and fittingly, the ball found the net via a ballooned side footed shot from sub Steve Gentle.

1-1, but a game of such poor quality that it would have been fairer to deduct rather than award points from both sides for such a dismal showing.

However, it’s not often that such a weak affair is offered at Milton Road these days and for the most part, home matches are to be treasured. It’s always good to find a few positives and on this occasion I would say that the half time trip to the The Two Sues’ Football, Fun ‘n’ Fashion Emporium  was a highlight, as was hearing Andy Abbott: The Grammar School Years. Well done to the Shed for given it double forte when the action on the pitch was more deserving of an embarrassed clearing of the throat.

A shocker but a point…and still unbeaten at home.