RUEFUL boss Steve Cuss was left pondering what might have been as 10-man Wimborne Town drew a blank in yesterday's 0-0 draw with Wantage Town.

Magpies made little headway during a tepid first half but emerged from the break with renewed vigour as Matt Kemble hit the post from Sam Griffin’s centre.

Skipper Scott Arnold then forced visiting keeper Lee Farrow into a near-post save but the hosts received a setback moments later when defender Ian Oliver was given his marching orders for denying Richie Guy a goalscoring opportunity.

Undeterred, Cuss’s charges kept probing and went close through Kemble and Griffin but despite the late dismissal of Wantage’s Jake Johns for a second bookable offence, Wimborne just couldn’t land the killer blow.

Cuss, who said he had “no complaints” over Oliver’s red card, told the Daily Echo: “Even after the sending off I thought we created a number of chances without managing to get the all-important goal.

“Having dominated possession the way we did, it was frustrating not to test their goalkeeper more.

“He made three decent saves, we also hit the woodwork and had a goal disallowed but with how well we were playing I had hoped to see us put him under more pressure.

“It was a bit disappointing but, overall, it has still been a great start to the season. I’m really happy with the performance levels and with the games coming thick and fast we have to make sure we keep going.”

Meanwhile, Cuss reported that Wimborne’s quest for goals could be set for a timely boost over the next week, with last season’s top scorer Mark Gamble making good progress with a troublesome ankle injury.

Cuss added: “Mark took part in the pre-match warm-up and looked much closer to fitness. The Sholing game (on Tuesday) might be a bit soon for him but we’re hopeful he’ll be ready by next weekend.”

Magpies: Harvell, Arnold, Maybury, Oliver, Biles, Blake, Griffin, Davidson, Webb, Kemble (Powell, 83), Stokoe. Unused subs: Brimson, Costello, Wilson, Horton (g/k).