The failure to find the killer touch proved costly as Lowestoft Town had to settle for a point in a game in which they dominated for the majority of the 90 minutes.

There were few clear-cut chances but what goal attempts were made tended to be blocked by weight of numbers.

With Robert Eagle suspended, Stuart Ainsley was drafted into the left side of midfield and Curtis Haynes-Brown replaced the injured Adam Smith.

The game started at a high tempo with both sides.

As the half wore on Lowestoft started to gain the ascendancy and they thought that they had taken the lead as Sam Gaughran got on the end of a Jack Ainsley cross to loop a header over Billy Granger into the net only to have the effort disallowed for offside.

A Dan Gleeson free-kick found Jake Reed whose glancing header was just the wrong side of the upright and the Blues striker was again close to breaking the deadlock with a flick from a Stuart Ainsley cross.

Lowestoft continued to hold the upper hand into the second period and the Ainsley brothers combined to set up Manny Osei whose shot rebounded out off the keeper's legs. Chris Henderson and Andrew Fisk suffered similar fates as their attempts were blocked by the mass of bodies in front of goal.

It was not all one-way traffic though and as Lowestoft pressed forward a quick counter provided substitute Allan Tait with a great chance to steal the points for the Met. The ball arrived at his feet in front of an open goal inside the six-yard box but he only managed to slice his shot wide of the mark.

Home keeper Granger was sent off late on for bringing down Reed just outside of the penalty area and receiving his second yellow card having previously been cautioned for time wasting.