With only one place and one point separating the teams at the start of play, Saturday's match in Southampton promised to be closely fought, and that is how it turned out.

Chances were few and far between at either end, with only seven penalty corners being awarded in total throughout the match.

Chelmsford perhaps enjoyed the better of the exchanges in the first half. Their forward movement was good and they edged the midfield battle.

Tracey Willmore went closest to scoring but she saw her close range effort brilliantly saved by the Trojans goalkeeper.

Lynn Bollington's angled shot then fizzed past the post while at the other end, Katie Roberts made two finesaves when Trojans threatened.

If Chelmsford edged the first half, Trojans looked the more likely to score in the second.

However, Chelmsford took the lead when Willmore's brilliant pass found Bollington running from deep into the Trojans circle.

She let the ball run across her body before firing low under the advancing goalkeeper.

The breakthrough seemed to spur the Trojans as they pushed Chelmsford back and Roberts made several more fine saves.

Chelmsford's front runners became isolated and they found it increasingly difficult to break out of their own half.

The equaliser was almost inevitable and Roberts could do nothing to keep out a fiercely struck close range shot.

It was no more than Trojans deserved and the worry for Chelmsford now was whether they could hang on for a point.

Despite a concerted effort from the home team to push for a winner, Chelmsford did earn themselves a point.

It was probably deserved for their efforts in the first half and the way in which they defended bravely under intense pressure in the final quarter of the game.

With only two league games left before the Christmas break it is a point that keeps them in the thick of the promotion battle.

l Tomorrow (Saturday), sees the visit of Aldridge to Chelmer Park.

Aldridge currently lead Division One and Chelmsford will be hoping to knock them off the top just as they did to Canterbury in their previous home match.

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