Worcester City’s first competitive game of the season ended in an FA Cup goalless stalemate with visitors Walsall Wood.  

City dominated the game and created a host of chances but were unable to make them count, which meant a trip up to Staffordshire for a replay at the John Sylvester Stadium on Tuesday (August 6).

Playing in front of 650 fans at Claines Lane, City dominated the opening exchanges and it needed Walsall Wood keeper Andy Wycherley to be at his best to keep the scores level, producing two fine saves before Liam Lockett fired a header just wide from inside the box - and all this inside the opening six minutes.

Lockett was proving a real handful for the Wood defence and he went close again soon after with a shot that rolled just the wrong side of the post.

It was a battle between the boxes for the next ten minutes until City’s Kyle Belmonte took matters into his own hands and struck the ball from range, forcing Wycherley into another save at full stretch.

The hosts continued to press and Hayden Reeves, playing against his former club, went close to handing City the lead when he headed a cross from the impressive Lockett over the bar.

Despite dominance from Worcester, the hosts persevered and went close in the 40th minute when Nick Clayton-Phillips let fly but the effort was saved by Haydn Whitcombe.

City responded by almost taking the lead on the stroke of half-time when Dylan Hart popped up at the far post but failed to hit the target with his header.

Another Belmonte effort early in the second half went close before Wood were denied by the woodwork twice in one set play.

Clayton-Phillips had a free-kick tipped onto the bar in the 54th minute before the ball dropped for teammate Kaiman Anderson but his shot struck the left-hand upright.

Both sides pressed for a winner in the final half-hour but without really putting the keepers under pressure and the sides will go head-to-head again in midweek.