Hereford put the brakes on Rushden's title aspirations at the superbly-appointed Nene Park ground in Saturday's Nationwide Conference fixture.

And if pressure had been translated into goals, Hereford would certainly have come away with three points from a comfortable victory, particularly from their second-half display when they dominated proceedings to the tune of forcing eight corners to the home side's one.

Mark Taylor and the evergreen Ian Rodgerson provided plenty of craft in the Hereford midfield but the final ball was too often lacking as Jim Rodwell and Ray Warburton worked tirelessly at the heart of the home defence to keep a tight check on the Bulls front line.

Ironically, considering how dominant Hereford were in the second period, it was the home side who came closest to snatching the decisive goal.

Scott Cooksey, who was not overworked in the Bulls goal, produced a brilliant save to tip a shot from Garry Butterworth around the post after punching a cross out to the Diamonds skipper on the edge of the box.

Cooksey had also been in the action after six minutes when he had to be at his most alert to tip David Lowe's shot over the bar after Tom White had slipped on the wet surface.

But these were generally isolated incidents in a game where the lion's share of the attacking came from Hereford, although even their goal efforts were kept to a minimum.

In the first half, a couple of headers from Rob Elmes slid past the upright but the most dangerous moment came when a surging run by the ever-impressive Tony James was halted by a desperate tackle on the edge of the penalty area.

Early in the second period, Elmes, who was kept under close scrutiny by the home side, was robbed by the lunging Rodwell as he stretched to reach a flick-on from Leroy May.

Tom White then had a header deflected wide from a Taylor free-kick but ultimately two strong defences cancelled each other out and it was no surprise when the game ended scoreless.

United's John Snape, who gave his usual tireless display in the Hereford midfield, had to leave the pitch in the closing stages to have three stitches put in a head wound.

Hereford: Cooksey, Lane, James, Taylor, Wright, White, Rodgerson, Snape (Sturgess 84 min), May (Williams 71 min), Elmes, Parry (Fewings 71 min). Subs not used: Quy, Shirley.

Rushden: Turley, Peters, Burgess, Cooper, Rodwell, Warburton, Butterworth, Wormull, Lowe, DeSouza, Underwood. Subs not used: Hamsher, Naylot, Bradshaw, Mills, Mison.

Referee: NF Perkins (Gravesend).

Attendance: 4,022.