MISSED chances and a bobbly pitch cost the Bulls as relegation rivals Ashton United kept their fading hopes alive with a goalless draw in Greater Manchester.

Another standout performance by 21-year-old midfielder Tom Owen-Evans spurred the Bulls on but his side were denied by goalkeeper George McMahon on several occasions and a goal-line clearance before the break.

Ashton, who sit in 20th some eight points behind Hereford with two games in hand, rarely threatened with their only real chance coming when Liam Martin had Matt Yates beaten only to be denied on the goal-line by Jordan Cullinane-Liburd.

Substitute James Roberts also probed late on but sent his curling shot wide and despite Ashton.

“We have drawn and come away with a clean sheet which is a positive but the boys are disappointed in there as I think we did enough to take three points,” said Owen-Evans.

“I think we could have been two or three nil up at half-time. There was a lot of ball into the box and we created a lot of chances.

“The pitch isn’t great at all and we couldn’t play any real football on it, it was a scrappy game and probably terrible to watch.

“So it was hard to create clear cut chances of here but we had a lot of half chances and went in at half-time saying that we should have put the game to bed already.

“It was tough to play on and if we had played them at home it could have been three or four. It’s tough to create clear cut chances on here because you can’t pass the ball crisp and your first touch isn’t always perfect because there is a bobble in front of you.

“But it wasn’t to be and we had chances in the second half and like I said we did enough to win the game but we have only come away with a point.”

With Ashton playing their games in hand against play-off chasing AFC Telford United and table-toppers Chorley in the coming week Owen-Evans said it was just as important that his side didn’t lose the tie.

“It would have been nice to pick up the three points but I think in games like this, six pointers near the bottom it’s most important not to lose and take a draw at least,” he added.

“We have got that and got the clean sheet but we should be coming away with the three points really.

“You’ve got to handle the conditions and we did that but just didn’t put the ball into the back of the net.

“First and foremost we’ve got a clean sheet and a point and it’s a game we couldn’t afford to lose so we’ve not lost it but we’re a little disappointed that we haven’t won the game.

“It wasn’t the sort of game where they were going to play through us or create chances going through the middle of us.

“They had the one chance in the first half and the last 10 minutes where we hadn’t killed the game off we gave them a little bit of hope and they came back into it.

“Apart from that I thought we were comfortable.”

Hereford: Yates, Thomas, Greenslade (Wharton 83), Cullinane-Liburd, Oates, Gowling (c), O'Sullivan, Owen-Evans, Richards (Finn 79), Lloyd (Roberts 68), Symons

Subs: Smith, Radovanovic