Salisbury City came away with a draw today having faced a well organised Hemel Hempstead.

Bradley Gray was handed a starting place after his 2-goals coming off the bench in midweek, and with injury doubts Kayne McLaggon and Ben Joyce both passed fit, the Whites boasted an attacking lineup.

The Whites were the more dominant of the two sides, but clear-cut chances were hard to come by with neither keeper severely tested. Despite this, much of the game was played inside Hemel’s half with Salisbury retaining possession well. The Whites looked strongest when they managed to keep the ball along the floor, with Gray and Casey running through from midfield.

Hemel were never made to look too flustered and carved out a few half chances on the break. No. 10 Ross Layfayette saw a header fly over the bar. He broke through again moments later but Jamie Turley did well to remove the threat.

Midway though the first half Casey intercepted a throw from the red’s keeper and  set up Clarke to strike, but the midfielder’s shot was easily gathered. After his midweek wonder-goal, Bradley clearly had a taste for it hitting the side netting with a powerful effort and smashing several shots narrowly wide.

The Tudor’s left winger, Aston Goss, found himself with several chances to put a ball in, but his end delivery did little to trouble Salisbury, both Giles and Turley looking steady.

At half time, Adam Kelly replaced Ben Adelsbury, with the Whites shifting more to a 4-4-2. Despite a few half chances, neither side were able to take hold of the game, Hemel forcing a fingertip save from Whites’ Keeper Tommy Smith.

On the hour mark, striker Matt Wright replaced Kayne McLaggon, and once again it was a substitution that paid dividends for Clarkey’s men. A driven corner from Gray was met with a powerful leap from Wright who headed home. A red defender scooped away but the ball had clearly crossed the line.  1-0 Salisbury.

The away side didn’t lose heart and broke through just minutes later. Layfayette had a golden one on one opportunity but was foiled by Tommy Smith who denied the striker from just four yards.

Hemel grew in stature and found the equaliser they were hunting on 78 mins. Some good wing play as the ball found the feet of Tudor striker Dennis Fennemore to score a placed shot to Smith’s right hand side.

Salisbury regrouped and avoided losing their cool. But it was Hemel who finished the stronger side, despite neither team worrying the keeper.

A draw was arguably a fair result on the day, but manager Darell Clarke was far from satisfied. “I was disappointed with the final ball in the last third and we didn’t get going in the second half as I would have liked. It’s frustrating to take the lead and not see the game through.”

The draw means the White’s still remain undefeated after their first five games and lie second in the table ahead of their trip to Chippenham this bank holiday Monday.