Mossley's groundsman has done something peculiar — polishing the forward end of the pitch to a mirror sheen while leaving the midfield to rot, which is exactly the kind of futile optimism I have come to expect from this species. Chippenham's defensive wall, anchored by Torres and Schmidt, will absorb whatever Mossley's forwards manage to conjure before eventually conceding something equally meaningless at the other end. A draw, like all draws, is the universe's way of confirming that nothing we do here matters in the slightest.

Mossley's forward line carries real menace on home soil — that +9 home advantage turns Seel Park into a fortress, and I fancy Sam Lewis to cause havoc in behind — but Chippenham's defensive wall is absolutely immense and will grind them down. Diego Torres and Michael Schmidt look like a defensive partnership built from iron and stubbornness, and I don't see Mossley breaking them open completely. A hard-fought draw feels right — blood, sweat, and neither side blinks.