Barrow boss Pete Wild felt it was a case of two good sides cancelling each other out in his side’s 0-0 draw at home to AFC Wimbledon.
Far from a classic, the game had precious few chances at either end, although Wimbledon almost snatched all three points with a last-gasp breakaway chance for Jake Reeves.
But, after his keeper Paul Farman denied Reeves to preserve a point, Wild was quick to sing the 33-year-old’s praises.
“We’ve limited Wimbledon to not a lot of chances,” said Wild. “There was one in the second half on the counter and one in the final minute of the game, where your heart’s in your mouth.
“You need your goalkeeper every single week and we certainly needed ours today in that last minute. He pulled us out of the mire there, he does every week, he’s a fantastic keeper and deserves all the plaudits he gets.”
The result left Barrow 15th in League Two on 18 points, four points behind eighth-placed Wimbledon with a game in hand.
Wild added: “I think both teams have just cancelled each other out today, you’ve got to give Wimbledon massive credit for the way they’ve set up and made it tough for us.
“I said to the players that shows the respect that other teams are giving them now, they came and set up like that and I think we’ll see that a bit more in the coming weeks.
“With the ball we played some really good stuff, I asked them at half-time to move the ball quicker and create some overloads on the outside and we did that better in the second half but they defended their box excellently and come away with a point, so I’m sure they’re pleased.
“We’ve just got to keep knocking the door down and keep working on that final third and good things will come. It wasn’t to be today, it’s a tale of two good sides who’ve cancelled each other out.”
Dons boss Johnnie Jackson was left rueing Farman’s last-ditch rescue act, but admitted it would perhaps have been harsh on their hosts.
Instead, he was happy with a point and clean sheet from their longest away trip of the season.
“We almost won it with a really good chance at the end, on another day we go and score that goal and nick it,” said Jackson.
“It would have been nicking it too, it was a really tight, close game and we had to defend well at times.
“I thought we were really strong and resolute in the way we defended our box, and that gives you those moments where you can go and counter and create those moments at the other end and that was probably the best of the lot at the end.
“It was a difficult chance for Jake, I thought the pitch was really tough and made playing tricky, I could see it was bobbling about, and that was the nature of the day, it was going to be won or lost on those little moments because it was a tough, closely-fought game in difficult conditions.
“It’s another clean sheet though, they had most of their chances from set-plays. I didn’t feel like they played through us or got in behind us and got one-on-one, it was just those set-piece moments that we had to defend and I have to say we did it brilliantly.
“That’s my biggest takeaway, how resolute we were with our defending.”
Howe taking plenty of positives despite frustrating Newcastle campaign
Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday's FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle's place in next season's Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
"It summed up our season," Howe told BBC Sport. "We weren't totally secure at the back, but great credit to the players. They've done their job - now we wait and see.
"We anticipated after losing against Manchester United that our control of the [European] situation had gone. It's never a nice situation, but whatever happens, happens.
"We have issues to solve defensively. If we can do that, next season could be another season of really strong performances. This was a season that could have been better, but a good season overall.
"We're a really united club. I think we're still moving forward, so there's a lot to be positive about."
Postecoglou will not settle until Tottenham hit his 'lofty ambitions'
Ange Postecoglou warned Tottenham he will not settle until the club hits the "lofty ambitions" targeted in his mind.
Spurs were 3-0 victors over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday, ending their Premier League season with a convincing win to finish fifth in the table.
Postecoglou voiced his frustrations after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City ended their hopes of Champions League football next term.
The Spurs head coach was far more relaxed after his side performed well in Sheffield, with Dejan Kulusevski twice on target, along with a goal for Pedro Porro against the relegated Blades.
Yet Postecoglou insisted his ambitions remain high as the Australian attempts to take Tottenham to the next level.
"Contrary to my general demeanour, I have loved every minute of it," former Celtic boss Postecoglou said of his first season in charge of Tottenham.
"It is a great challenge in the Premier League and taking over a big club that didn't have a great year last year. You understand it is not going to run smoothly, but I have enjoyed the whole season.
"I have got some lofty ambitions for the football club and until we reach that point I am not going to be smiling too much.
"As I said, all any manager wants is maximum effort and I have got that from everyone involved. I have enjoyed it and looking forward to pushing on from here."
Asked to summarise his first campaign in England's top league, Postecoglou continued: "It's been good, it's been eventful, it's had a bit of everything.
"I am obviously not delighted with the way we finished the season but in fairness to the players and staff we have been in the top five all season, in a year where there was a fair bit of upheaval.
"We finished eighth last year, player turnover, different football, different way of training, it is not easy to maintain a level when you are trying to do that.
"Even in our tough periods this year we have still been competitive for the most part."
Kulusevski scored his seventh and eighth Premier League goals of the season (36 outings), more than he managed in his first two league campaigns with Tottenham combined (seven across 48 games).
Only in the 2019-20 season with Parma has the Sweden winger scored more times in a league season (10 in Serie A), and Postecoglou hailed Kulusevski's returns.
He added: "I thought Deki was good. He's worked awfully hard this year without a lot of reward in the front third.
"We thought playing him through middle today would help us with his mobility and ability to run in behind. He did well.
"He always works hard but it's that sort of final third where we need him to get rewards and he got them today so he did well."
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
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