7-я Волна and Хом Старс shared the points in a goalless draw at the first division's regular season round three. The match finished 0:0 on Friday, and neither side managed to find the net despite both having played three games already. By then, the pattern was already clear - this season is proving stubborn.
Both teams come into this fixture with identical records: three games, three draws, no wins, no losses. 7-я Волна drew 1:1 with Хакла and 1:1 with Тру Демокраси. Хом Старs responded with a 1:1 against ВАФА and a 0:0 draw with Хакла. The away side also knows what losing feels like, having dropped points against Окваву and Грейт Олимпикс earlier in the campaign.
And here's the thing - when two sides have drawn every game they've played, a 0:0 isn't surprising. Both teams entered the pitch knowing they had nothing to lose but everything to protect. The result keeps both sides in the middle of the table, 8th and 7th respectively, still searching for that first victory.
The standings read the same for both clubs: three points from three matches. No one has broken through yet. The gap between seventh and eighth is measured in goal difference, but with no goals scored or conceded by either side this season, that gap is negligible. To be fair, the table doesn't tell the whole story.
Three rounds in and the first division sits at an unusual equilibrium. Both teams have shown they can grind out results, even if those results don't come with three points. The season has barely begun, and already both sides are playing not to lose rather than to win.