STOURBRIDGE have edged to the top of the Southern League Central table after a rare goalless draw at Banbury on Tuesday night.

The Glassboys failed to find the back of the net for the first time in 12 league games - a run that goes all the way back to the 0-0 draw with Alvechurch in September.

However, it was enough for them to pull a point clear of rivals Kettering despite having played three games more.

Stour's goalscoring exploits had continued at Leiston last Saturday where goals from Aaron Forde, Luke Benbow and Kaiman Anderson.

But it was goalkeeper James Wren that won the praise of his manager after keeping out Banbury three days later.

Boss Gary Hackett said: "We always knew James was a very good goalkeeper and he showed that against Banbury.

"He's a very talented lad and even though he'll say he was just doing his job, he did very well and we're delighted for him."

"Banbury was always going to be a difficult trip for us when you bear in mind that on Saturday we left for Leiston at 8.30am and didn't get back until after 11pm.

"It also came on the back of long journeys to Biggleswade and St Neots and it was a tired and lethargic performance.

"Despite that we still managed to create four or five good chances, so it wasn't terrible but just not to the standards we know we're capable of.

"Banbury played very well, deserve credit and in the end it was a case of a good point gained rather than two dropped."

The Glassboys will now look to build on their six-game unbeaten run when they welcome ninth-placed Coalville to Amblecote this Saturday (3pm kick-off).

"They'll look at the league and look at their games in hand and fancy making up some ground on the top teams.

"We have to be mindful of them but we're really looking forward to getting back to the War Memorial Ground."

Defender Jordaan Brown will be back in contention after missing the Banbury clash. Jack Duggan has also returned to light training.

Meanwhile, midfielder Tom Tonks has now gone out on loan to Walsall Wood as he looks to find match sharpness following ankle surgery that saw him miss the start of the season.

Stourbridge were boosted last week as winger Greg Mills committed to the club.

The attacker signed a contract with Stour to ward off interest from other sides. The deal will run until the end of the current 2018/19 campaign.