SLICK Cherries should have had sorry Stockport sending out a Mayday distress signal following this one-sided affair.

But having spent much of the season struggling against the tide, the Hatters managed to keep their heads above water to finish the match on an even keel.

With the points shared, Sammy McIlroy's men ensured their Division Two status, while Sean O'Driscoll's troops are now left to fight for eighth place.

However, but for the heroics of County goalkeeper Jamie Spencer and some wayward finishing by the hosts, it could have been a very different story.

Cherries, rampant on the attack and creative in possession, were also decidedly profligate in front of goal.

In a fair assessment, Cherries boss O'Driscoll described his side's general play as "magnificent", while McIlroy conceded to a "backs-to-the-wall job".

McIlroy was also quick to admit that "we didn't play particularly well, but our spirit and defensive qualities shone through brilliantly".

O'Driscoll, meanwhile, when asked if he felt his side did not get the breaks they deserved, said: "I thought we got all the breaks we did deserve, but we just couldn't finish them off.

"The story before the game was that Brighton had to lose and we had to score 12 and I think we could have scored 12 today."

With both squads on their last legs due to injuries, O'Driscoll and McIlroy had to draw on all their resources to find 16 semi-fit players.

Wade Elliott, Garreth O'Connor and Brian Stock were all restored to the Cherries midfield, while Neil Young was handed his first start for more than seven months.

Young and Elliott combined like a pie and a pint as Cherries dominated the opening 22 minutes, with County rarely venturing into enemy territory.

The two players were in the thick of the early action, although Young's dangerous cross and Elliott's snapshot failed to set the alarm bells ringing in the County defence.

However, the visitors were systematically carved apart by a breathtaking four-man move which almost ended with Cherries taking the lead in the 11th minute.

Started by Young near the halfway line and also involving Derek Holmes, Stock was eventually set up by James Hayter's clever assist.

But when the normally unflappable midfielder was asked the question, he fired wide of the target when well placed.

Another equally impressive build-up just seven minutes later, which saw Hayter follow up Young's earlier nutmeg, resulted in Marcus Browning screwing his effort past the same post in similar fashion.

As County's frustrations mounted due to an acute shortage of possession, both defender Danny Adams and striker Jon Daly received bookings.

But fortunately for the visitors, goalkeeper Spencer kept his head in the 22nd minute when he pulled off a stunning double save to deny both Holmes and Hayter.

Young's pinpoint centre to the far post was met by the Scotsman who looked to plant his header into the bottom corner.

Spencer had other ideas and acrobatically threw himself to his right to parry the effort before somehow managing to scoop Hayter's follow-up out for a corner.

His goalkeeper's heroics had McIlroy purring: "He made two great saves to keep us in it. We all know the boy's got potential and he was great when we needed him."

County lost influential defender Rob Clare to injury midway through the first half before their first chance arrived after 26 minutes.

The impressive Owen Morrison was thwarted in his bid to test Neil Moss when Karl Broadhurst's brave block prevented his strike from troubling the Cherries goalkeeper.

Daly, who had infuriated the Dean Court faithful with his late lunge on Young, further angered the home crowd when he appealed in vain for a penalty after going down in a heap under a well-timed tackle by the Cherries defender.

As the first half petered out, O'Connor ballooned a shot high over the crossbar before Danny Jackman had an effort ruled out for offside at the other end after Moss had done well to keep out Morrison's initial drive.

At the start of the second half, Spencer again excelled himself when he got down to his right to save Stock's fierce shot from the edge of the box.

Then, in the space of 10 minutes, O'Connor had three good chances to break the deadlock, but his luck summed up Cherries' day.

Good work by Hayter and Stock created the Irishman's first opportunity, a tame shot straight into the arms of Spencer.

Then, and with the ball sticking to his foot like glue, O'Connor embarked on a dazzling run into the danger area, although his final effort was off target.

The trio of chances was completed by an instinctive volley which flashed past the post after O'Connor had seized on a loose ball around 20 yards from goal.

"Garreth could have scored three goals of the season if they had all gone in," said O'Driscoll. "But we had one of those days in front of goal where either the keeper made a save or we mis-kicked.

"I thought we were a little bit anxious at times, but for an end-of-season game, I thought people went home thoroughly entertained."

Hot-head Daly almost went home early after he again reacted angrily following a challenge with Young. The pair were both lucky to avoid bookings, particularly Daly who had been cautioned in the first half.

As County began to realise that perhaps their luck could be in, the pint-sized Jackman tried his luck from distance, only to see his piledriver fizz over the crossbar.

Another O'Connor volley failed to find its intended target after he had met a Warren Cummings centre before Holmes's bullet header flew narrowly wide from the same source.

O'Connor's surging run into the penalty area again caused mayhem in the visitors' ranks and, after the ball had fallen to Hayter following a frantic scramble, that man Spencer was on hand to again save the day for the Hatters.

O'Driscoll, when asked if he had been pleased overall with the season, said: "I've said this before and I think people take it tongue in cheek - we try to win every game and you are disappointed when you lose.

"I think the days are gone now in football where you consolidate and move on the next season because contracts are so short and you end up every season thinking that you might lose some of your best players and having to start again.

"So if you can get success in any one season it makes it easier to improve and move. We set out high standards. We want to get performances and we want people to come and watch us play and, win, lose or draw, we like them to think they enjoyed it."