Nuneaton Borough 1 Farsley Celtic 1

It may have been a penalty that eventually secured a draw for the Celts but it would have been rough justice had they not brought back at least a point.

That had to be the minimum requirement, given their recent form and the gritty display from the players.

The result maintained Farsley's position in the top half of the Conference North in their first season in the division.

But before Farsley get too comfortable following their promotion from the UniBond Premier last season, it must be pointed out that, although they are five points off the top three, they are also only six points above the relegation zone.

Too much can be read into statistics at this point of the campaign and that is something that will not have escaped tough taskmaster and pragmatic Celts boss Lee Sinnott.

"We stuck in there; we have been to some difficult places in our away games so far," he said.

"That doesn't mean we have some grounds to go to where points will be easy to come by, it just doesn't happen in this league.

"You have to be on top of your game to get anything from a fixture, even at home.

"On Saturday we deserved something but not more than we got. I thought both teams were leggy, a bit tired after the full-on start to the campaign."

Sinnott has a point as over a quarter of a nine-month season has unfurled in just over six weeks. Considering the demands on the part-time semi-pro' player, the Celts have done well to make their mark a step up the pyramid.

Nuneaton looked anything but jaded early in the game though and they took a ninth-minute lead through Paul Darby after a breakaway from a Farsley corner.

In a game of few chances and almost no mistakes, it was a lead that lasted until midway through the second period.

In the 67th minute, the Celts won a free-kick which was flicked on by Gareth Grant and a home defender was penalised for handling. Simeon Bambrook stepped forward and confidently stuck away the resulting spot-kick.

Damian Reeves had a good opening and Bambrook headed over in the second half on a day which did not favour the forwards. The fact that it was the first goal Farsley had conceded in four games underlined their stature.

"Three clean sheets before this and one goal conceded in a four-game unbeaten run are not bad statistics, considering we have moved up a league," said former Bantams player Sinnott.

"This was a hard-earned point and I said to the players afterwards that it was gained by a gutsy performance. Some-times you have to be philosophical, you are going to have to battle it out at times, and I was pleased.

"I'm sure everyone connected to the club would love to win three or four nil every game and play the best football. In this game, neither club deserved to win, or lose for that matter, so it was a gutsy display and any team at any level needs a percentage of those in any season."