Frustration as 10-men Skegness Town hold Hucknall Town to a draw after early red card

But Yellows boss Tris Whitman was pleased with the point and clean sheet.

“This was a very physical match that was constantly disrupted through stoppages,” he said.

“We made a number of changes from the game against Basford on Wednesday which allowed players the opportunity to play.

“Skegness set the tone for the game from the kick off with a number of late tackles and constant negative interactions with the officials.

“This saw them go down to 10 men after just eight minutes when a scuffle in the box resulted in their player being shown a red card for a headbutt on Aaron Lamb.

“From that point on we really struggled to find any rhythm to our game and were especially sloppy in possession.

“On the few occasions we moved the ball quickly, we threatened to break through but never really created any clear chances.

“Overall it was a frustrating game and Skegness will probably be the happier of the two teams. However, it was another clean sheet and point and although we weren’t at our best we did control the game for large parts.”

In a bruising first 45 minutes the visitors were quickly reduced to 10 men for an off the ball clash that saw red cards for Charlie Ward and furious Skegness boss Chris Rawlinson.

But the Yellows were unable to capitalise on having the extra man in a game with very few clear cut chances and had to accept a point on the back of an overall scrappy game.

This Saturday Hucknall head for Sign Right Park to take on mid-table Melton Town and Whitman will be looking for an improved performance in order to pull further away from the pack behind them.

“This week we train on Tuesday in preparation for Saturday's away game at Melton where we once again have a large squad, so team selection will be tough,” he said.

Melton ended a highly promising afternoon with nine men and a narrow, late 2-1 defeat at title-chasing Lincoln United last weekend, having two men sent off late on and losing to a stoppage time penalty.