BASHLEY boss Steve Riley praised defender Pete Castle for his battling "fight for the cause" as the New Foresters kept their unbeaten home run intact this season.

Castle went off for treatment after receiving a nasty knock on the head in an aerial challenge for the ball inside the opening five minutes.

The central defender was off the pitch for a worrying five minutes as Bashley's physio tried to patch Castle up as best he could and get him back into the action.

After a lot of frenzied medical work, Castle entered the fray again and completed the full 90 minutes. His sterling efforts at the back helped Bashley eke out another point in their chase for promotion.

Riley said: "Pete went up for a header. He won the ball but clashed heads and also took a hefty knock on the nose and his eye.

"I don't know what the damage is, we'll look at it on Monday.

"It might work out that he just has heavy bruising and he might look a bit like a panda.

"He got patched up and came back on to fight for the cause.

"That was nice to see. I want to see that in my players. He didn't pull out of anything after he came back on, which is good.

"We couldn't stop the bleeding, even though it wasn't bleeding that fast. That's why it went on for so long. That's why it took five minutes to get him back on the pitch."

Bashley goalkeeper David Elm picked up the man-of-the-match award, while Clevedon custodian Danny Greaves was also forced to make a series of good saves as well.

It was a day for goalkeepers, with neither outfits forwards looking as though they had the poise to break the deadlock.

Riley said: "Both sides had a lot of chances from set plays, corners and free kicks but we weren't really at the races in the first half.

"Clevedon arrived unbeaten in five and they are a very strong defensive team. They don't concede many goals, just like us.

"So I was quite pleased with the result to be honest. Twice in the first half we tried to play a bit of football. Other than that, we couldn't get going.

"It was everyone, not just two or three players. We just couldn't pass the football as a team.

"But we kept a clean sheet and are still unbeaten at home, the only side in the division to have that record. In the last four games we have won three and drawn one, so if we can do that every four games we will be there or thereabouts at the end."

Riley, meanwhile, has confirmed his interest in getting ex-Cherries midfielder Danny Smith at the Recreation Ground for a longer period.

Smith is currently with Bashley on loan, but his own club Eastleigh have just put him on the transfer list.

Riley said: "We'll take stock and see where we are with this."

Bashley: Elm, Gazzard, Castle, Archbold, Ferrett, Hardwell (Wakefield 83), Smith, Davies, Keeler (Tarr 70), Moss, Town. Unused subs: Hollick, Knowles, Gillespie.