Dunston extended their unbeaten run to 9 matches following a well-earned point against second place Matlock Town.

Jon McDonald made one change from Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Grimsby Borough with Josh Donaldson replacing Sado Djalo. New signing Dan Wilson also joined the bench.

Dunston started the stronger of the two sides and took the lead after nine minutes when Wil Shaw’s effort from the edge of the box rocketed into the bottom-left corner.

The Fed continued to press for a second goal however, they were denied by Oram in the Matlock goal, who kept out efforts from JJ O’Donnell and Tom Devitt.

The second half completely shifted the momentum, with Matlock pushing hard in search of an equaliser. Conor Washington came close to levelling the score, firing narrowly over the bar after some excellent work down the left from Cameron Wilson.

On 61 minutes, Matlock’s persistence was finally rewarded when Harlain Mbayo rose highest inside the box to meet a well-delivered cross, his header nestling perfectly into the bottom-right corner of Dan Lowson’s goal.

Both teams went in search of a winner however after a lack of clear cut chances at either end of the pitch, the match ultimately ended with both teams sharing the points.

Next up for Dunston is an away game in the Durham Challenge Cup against FC Hartlepool this Tuesday.

Dunston: Lowson, H.Neary, McDonald, Turnbull (F.Neary, 84’), Pearson (Baxter, 46’), Devitt, O’Donnell (Turner, 79’), Edwards (Wilson, 72’), Donaldson (Djalo, 81’), Robinson, Shaw.

Substitutes: None

Yellow Cards: Turnbull, Devitt

Goals: Shaw (9’)

Matlock Town: Oram, Erratt-Thompson, Milambo (Granite, 85), Bachirou, Mbayo, Oglesby, Ravenhill (Wiley, 90+4’), De Girolamo, Washington, Wilson

Substitutes: Murray, Clayton, Boney

Yellow Cards: Bachriou, Mbayo

Goals: Mbayo (61’)

Attendance: 309

By Thomas Boyle