Cheltenham Town and Chester City have managed only 16 goals between them this season and after this drab 0-0 draw it was not difficult to see why.
John Ward's Cheltenham side and Ian Rush's Chester are remarkably similar teams - hard-working, difficult to beat but lacking in attacking ideas.
The result is that both sides are seated in the bottom half of League Two and look likely to stay there for the immediate future.
The first half was a lively but disjointed affair, the main talking point being the stopping of play for three separate blood injuries.
Chester made the better start with Kevin Rapley forcing a good save from Shane Higgs and Cheltenham midfielder Grant McCann needing to head off the line from a flick header by Cortez Belle.
Towering striker Belle then sent a left-foot shot just over the bar and Ben Davies tried his luck with a long-range lob shot that Higgs, back-peddling from the edge of his area, touched on to the top of his crossbar.
Cheltenham finally got to grips with the game towards the end of the first half and when Martin Devaney delivered an inviting cross from the right, Damian Spencer was inches away from putting the home side in front.
McCann and JJ Melligan both went close with shots from the edge of the box and Melligan sent a 20-yarder just wide but the second half followed much the same pattern as the first.
Cheltenham wasted a couple of promising free-kick opportunities before defender Jamie Victory, in his 400th appearance for the club, almost got through in the closing stages but his shot after a mazy run was held by goalkeeper Wayne Brown.
The closest thing to a goal came deep into stoppage time when Chester substitute Michael Branch got free in the box but his shot was partially saved by Higgs before being booted off the line by Jerry Gill.