Dorchester TOWN 0 STAFFORD RANGERS 0 DORCHESTER extended their unbeaten Avenue Stadium sequence to seven games as they proved once again that they can live with the best in the division on their day.

Unfortunately the league table shows those days have been too few and far between and, as commendable as this stalemate with fifth-placed Stafford Rangers might have been, it is only victories that will bring them any hope of Conference Two football next season.

After the Welling disaster, manager Mark Morris reverted to the system which outfoxed Crawley for the second time this season in their last home appearance - Carl Poore's return from injury at right back for the suspended Mark Jermyn being the only change in personnel - and with every man pulling his weight it paid off again.

While experienced Stafford monopolised possession, the better finishing came from the Magpies despite the presence of the league's top scorer Daniel Davidson in the opposition attack and their reward for a another fully-committed performance might have been greater but for Rangers' debutant keeper Ben Foster.

The loanee from Stoke City, who spent last season at Tiverton, made two breathtaking saves to keep out efforts from Mark Rawlinson and Danny O'Hagan and had luck on his side in dealing with efforts from Matty Holmes and Andy Harris.

Holmes was the first to test Foster after just seven minutes, taking a wall pass from Matt Groves and belting a searing left footer that the keeper could only beat away with his palms, the rebound

narrowly evading an in-rushing Groves.

Foster raced eight yards outside his area to send the ball into the terraces and O'Hagan sprawling as he threatened to out-run the Stafford defence in the ninth minute with referee Curtis ruling that the visitors stopper had legitimately played the ball.

With Rangers slow out of the blocks, Foster came to their rescue again after 15 minutes. A ball in from the left was nodded goalwards by Mark Rawlinson and a deflection off visiting skipper Wayne Daniels' shoulder send it sailing just inside Foster's left hand upright.

But with the pace slightly taken off the header, the wrong-footed keeper somehow managed to stretch acrobatically along his line to claw the ball away.

Rangers forced plenty of corners and sent their big men forward for every set-piece, but with Dorchester's back four standing firm it was 24 minutes before Craig Bradshaw saw action.

A long ball found Davidson one-on-one with Michael White and the lanky Rangers man got the better of the duel only to finish with a weak shot from ten yards that a grateful Bradshaw fielded with ease above his head.

Harris and Davidson clashed as they jostled for position at another free-kick, the Magpies defender coming out of the incident with a cut eyelid that neces-sitated some half-time needlework from physio Geoff Dine.

Harris' complaints that the coming together of heads was not altogether accidental on the part of the Rangers striker failed to impress Mr Curtis.

Whatever the case, he almost made a name for himself from a free-kick at the other end just before the interval. Matt Hann speared an inswinger into the goalmouth, Harris directed a solid close range header and the ball squeezed through Foster's hands.

But the keeper was alert enough to dive back towards his goal and smother the ball on the line as it was about to roll into the net.

Skipper Daniels was superb at the heart of the Rangers' defence, just depriving Rawlinson five yards out in the 48th minute. But minutes later his finishing left something to be desired when he was presented with the visitors best chance of the game.

A right wing corner skimmed off a head in the goalmouth and fell quickly to an incoming Daniel at the far post, but from a couple of yards he side-footed wide of the post.

Michael Walker made way for the return of Justin Keeler, but not before he had missed a great chance to make the breakthrough. Hann's low ball from the right disected the Rangers' defence and Walker charged through unchallenged beyond the far post. But the angle was far from easy for a first time strike and he blazed high and wide.

The Magpies almost paid for the miss immediately when Chris Wilding played a neat-one-two with Richard Beale to cut through their defences before smashing in a shot that Bradshaw brilliantly blocked at point blank range.

A minute later Hann found Daniels wanting for the first time when he deftly flicked the ball over the Ranger's captain and sprinted into the area before dragging his shot across the face with Groves just a foot away from picking up the pieces as the ball skimmed wide of the far post.

Then Holmes sent O'Hagan clear on the left flank and his lay back was met with a characteristic rocket from Keeler that hit a defender in the goamouth.

The hard-working O'Hagan must have thought the matchwinner was his for the taking after 80 minutes when Hann beat Beale on the right and drifted a pinpoint cross to the far post. The big striker out-jumped Craig McAughtrie and powered a header goalwards from a couple of yards only to see Foster come out of nowhere to claw the ball away.

Another O'Hagan header from a Holmes' free-kick eluded Foster only to float across the the goalmouth and bounce wide of the opposite upright as the Magpies sought the win they deserved.

But in the final push it was so nearly Rangers who were celebrating when Colley hooked over from ten yards and McAughtrie headed player-boss Phil Robinson's free-kick straight at Bradshaw.