Hereford 2nd missed an opportunity to clinch the West of England and South Wales North-East Division 3 title when they were held to a 0-0 home draw by Gloucester City 3rd.

But they need only two points from the remaining three games to claim the title and secure promotion for the second year running.

The 1st XI remain in the relegation zone after slipping to a 2-0 home defeat in the Premier Division 2 at the hands of Exeter University.

In a close contested game the decisive moment came shortly after the visitors had taken the lead midway through the first half from a short corner.

Hereford hit back immediately and thought they had equalised when Ian Gwilliam got a touch to a cross which found the target, but the referee was unsighted and disallowed the goal. As Hereford pushed up Exeter caught them on the break and swept down the field to extend their lead.

Hereford 3rd battled hard for a share of the points in a 0-0 draw against Robinsons 4th at Bristol. Their defence was well marshalled by Mike Bates with debutant goalkeeper Jack Dugginson showing up well.

Leominster lost ground on the top teams in North Division 2A but still retain third spot after slipping to a 1-0 home defeat against Westbury. The visitors packed the midfield to effectively stifle any goal- scoring opportunities.

A young Leominster 2nd team performed admirably to gain a point at second- placed Yate where the teams shared six goals. Mark Stevenson (2) and Sam Johnson were on target for Leominster.