Oxford City’s goalless draw against Stalybridge Celtic in Blue Square Bet North was interrupted briefly when visiting fans let off a smoke bomb ten minutes from time.

Stalybridge players in the dug-out next to where the bomb was thrown, covered their faces from the smell.

City secretary John Shepperd explained the game was held up for only a couple of momemts.

“The referee came over to speak with our stewards who moved those concerned from the ground,” h e said.

“The official seemed quite happy with the way we had handled the matter.”

On the field, City manager Mike Ford felt a draw was the fair result.

“It’s another point on our journey and sometimes you lose these games, but I don’t think we did enough to win,” said Ford.

“Matt Ingram has made one fantastic save, but we’ve got to be pleased with that as it’s a 0-0 against a full-time side and it’s another point towards our target of being safe, which is 40 points. “I think we should be winning these, but we didn’t deserve to lose, so a draw was a fair result.

“We looked a bit leggy for some reason and we didn’t show our normal zest and desire, but we never stopped. “It was a midfield scrap and towards the end we looked vulnerable on the break because the players thought that we could win and then we started appearing in all the wrong places.

“But I said to the lads about learning from last week when we lost in a similar situation, so maybe we have learnt something so it’s a good point.”

However, Ford was critical of the playing surface, something he would like to see improve in the future.

“If we want to move on as a football club we need a better pitch. I’m not one to make excuses but that didn’t help,” he added.