In their first fixture of 2017, the Nailers were looking to start the new year on the right foot, particularly facing their local rivals Gresley who had comprehensively defeated the Nailers earlier in the seasnn.

But a first half equalizer from Tendai Chitiza condemned the Nailers to a second draw in a row.

Chitiza had proved to be menace throughout the game; with him finding pockets of space throughout the game and constantly threatening to get the home side a winner.

But his finishing him down on the day as Gresley could not find a way past an exceptional performance from Nailers 'keeper, Scott Low.

The Nailers took the lead after 18 minutes through Coalville Town loanee, Dean Freeman. The centre half got his first goal for the club after he headed home an excellently delivered free kick from Jonathan Williams.

The second half proved to be much more difficult for the Nailers; with the pitch beginning to tear up and almost prevent any passing play that they would have hoped for.

This gave Gresley an advantage; with them making several dangerous counter attacks through the tricky Leandro Browne

But a strong defensive display thwarted a number of Browne’s attacks as the Nailers battled to keep Gresley out.

This battling lead to a controversial red card for the Nailers as Freeman was given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow card; the first of which coming after vociferously appealing for offside for the Gresley first half goal.

Freeman pressured an oncoming striker from behind and the referee brandished a very harsh second yellow to reduce the Nailers to 10 men.

The condition of the playing surface probably brought about the introduction of Jermaine Palmer in the second half; with his aerial presence offering a much easier outlet on the deteriorating surface.

Palmer looked as if he had played a superb ball through to Ruben Wiggins-Thomas towards the end of the tie. However, the linesman believed that Wiggins-Thomas was offside, killing what looked to be a perfectly fine attack.

Gresley continued to bombard the Nailers goal at the end; with a succession of corners looking for a late winner. The Moatmen thought they had taken the lead late on but a superb save from Scott Low turned a goal-bound effort onto the post, much to the relief of the visiting supporters.

Belper would have gone into this fixture hoping for all three points. However, finishing with 10 men in difficult conditions, they would have been happy with their point.

This draw means that the Nailers have now extended their undefeated league run to 12 league games, an impressive record that they will be looking to extend when they face Stamford at the Marston’s Stadium on Saturday.