HAMWORTHY United and Christchurch were deadlocked in their goalless clash at the County Ground but not for the first time in their careers, managers Alex Pike and Pete Moore saw things rather differently.

While Priory boss Moore was full of praise for his counterpart's "awesome" side, Pike dismissed his comments as a "wind-up".

It seems the duo have taken a leaf from Ferguson, Mourinho and Wenger in their attempts to get under each other's skin after an even contest dominated by the wind and strong defences.

Jamie Holland was denied a second-half winner by a high quality Max Frampton save as the goalkeeper tipped the striker's shot on to the post.

But Christchurch also had a couple of decent chances as Richard Bentley was twice denied in a one-on-one by Hammers keeper Wayne Shaw.

Moore said: "Hamworthy totally outplayed us for the 90 minutes and we were really fortunate to come away with a 0-0 draw. But this is five games without defeat for us so we are moving in the right direction.

"They are one of the best teams we played this season - they were awesome."

Pike, however, was perplexed by Moore's comments as he said: "I think Pete Moore must have been watching a different game. He's probably on a wind-up because we have played an awful lot better than that this season.

"I thought it was two poor teams battling it out to see who could finish higher in mid-table.

"Defenders were on top throughout and it never looked like either side would ever score."

Moore, while apparently delighted with a point, was less enthused over the County Ground pitch.

He said: "They are playing on the worst pitch in the world and if they had a decent surface to play on, they would be even better.

"It was like playing on the surface of the moon - I thought Buzz Lightyear would be leading them out."

The state of the pitch, according to Moore, was to blame for an injury to new Priory striker Dominic Taylor - recently recruited from Brockenhurst - who turned an ankle on the surface.

But Pike countered: "Pete often comes up with a cheap comment about other team's pitches and we don't need them.

"He was quite lucky that he inherited a good pitch from Christchurch council.

"But we spent £20,000 on ours in the summer improving the drainage, our ground staff have worked tremendously hard on it and that takes a little while to settle."

There could be further disagreement between the two managers after United tendered a seven-day approach for Priory wide-man James Bailey-Pearce.

Moore believes the Hamworthy pitch will put him off the prospective move while Pike remains confident of landing his man.

Moore said: "I'd be very, very surprised if James wanted to play on that pitch every week.

"I've had a chat with him and he's told me he's not interested in playing for Hamworthy."

Pike said: "I've spoken to James and he seems pretty interested to me. I guess we'll all find out soon enough."

Moore has his own irons in the fire for additions to the squad and although he would not reveal the identities of the players he was chasing, he did drop a couple of hints.

"I'm looking at bringing in a defender and a midfielder," he added.

"We'll see what happens, but I should have decision from them this week."

Hamworthy: Shaw, Bartlett, Lawson, Gilbert, Bedward, Rossiter, Orchard, Edwards, McCormick, Benssaouda, Holland. Unused subs: Williams, Bates, Johnson.

Priory: Frampton, Whiteley, Massie, Hughes, Bailey-Pearce, Edwards, Wyatt, Lawrence, Rideout (Bernard, 70), Taylor (Joyce, 60), Bentley. Unused sub: Stone.