Stradbain Athletic played out a goalless draw against Armagh City in the Championship's regular season on Thursday evening. The match finished 0:0 after ninety minutes at the home ground. Both sides entered the fixture well down in the table, and the result leaves them exactly where they were before kick-off.
And here's the thing about this one — Stradbain put forty-seven more attacks into the final third than their visitors, yet neither side created anything worth mentioning. Five corners to three, and that's all the structure either team could conjure. To be fair, neither defence switched off at a set piece.
The hosts sit thirteenth with nine points from ten games, two wins, three draws and five losses. Armagh City are fifteenth after nine matches, still searching for their first victory this season. Five draws already, four defeats, and they have not won since the start of the campaign.
By then, you'd expect a side to find a way through. Coaches talk about breaking down low blocks, but Stradbain's 107 attacks produced nothing. Four yellow cards between them — two for the hosts, three for the visitors — suggested frustration rather than tactical discipline.
The home side's recent form offers a sliver of context. They beat Ard s 1:0 last weekend after a run of draws and defeats, including a 6:0 hammering from Queens University. Armagh City have been tighter defensively but equally toothless going forward, with only one victory all season coming in a 3:5 win over Institute.
