Bristol Rovers 0 Oxford United 0

When I arrived at the Memorial Ground on Saturday one hour before kick-off, it was on the back of a morning of rain and the Rovers’ grounds men were using garden forks to try and drain the pitch. The referee had already inspected it once and even as he and his assists warmed up, you could see him checking out some of the more suspect patches. To be frank I didn't think the game would go ahead and so credit goes to the ground staff for all their hard work.

The home team find a 'green' patch on which to warm up

It was obvious from well before kick off that neither team would be doing a Barca impression!

Michael Poke earned Rovers a point and feels he is finally making up for lost time.

Man of the match Poke, 26, shut out Oxford with a couple of great saves before revealing:

"I was at Southampton from the age of nine and didn't figure much. I left about 18 months ago to join Brighton, but before the season started they signed Casper. Even though he became a good mate, I still wasn't getting any games.

Paul Buckle brought me here on January 1st this year for one month. When he was at Torquay he had taken me on loan so knew what I could do. When he got sacked the very next day I thought 'here we go'. I didn't know what it would mean and was half expecting to be sent back to Brighton.

But Mark McGhee extended the loan which gave me a lot of confidence. I think I'm allowed one more month after this if the club want me. I would definitely be interested."

Opposite number Ryan Clarke returned to his home town club for the first time since leaving in 2006 and he joked:

"I think they only gave Michael the man of the match award because I was here and they wanted to rub it in. He's a top keeper though. He came to get some games and it's a good club to come to. It's got a reputation for bringing some decent keepers through - obviously."

And Clarke feels Oxford are perfectly placed for a promotion charge. He said:

"We want to aim high and want to go up. We've got a run in that we'd like, but with the size and expectations of the club we've got to look at the play-offs at a minimum."

Both managers were content with a draw on a wet and muddy pitch and Rovers chief McGhee said:

"They are a decent team and it was a closely contested game. You felt if someone could nick a goal it would be the decisive goal. I can't say we should have won, but it would have been hard on us if we'd lost and so we'll take it."

Oxford boss Christ Wilder was delighted with the effort shown by his team and said:

"I thought it was a real good game and we shaded it. The performance was good and the desire to get something out of the game - whether it was a draw or a win - was top notch."

My clipping from this morning's paper