SEAN O'Driscoll watched Port Vale put the brakes on Cherries' play-off push last night before heaping praise on his players for passing their first "big test" at the Fitness First Stadium.

Cherries, who were looking to complete a hat-trick of wins at their new ground, were held by the stubborn Valiants in a tense stalemate in front of a crowd of 4,428.

Boss O'Driscoll said: "Port Vale gave us a lot of respect and came here to do a job which they did very well. We found it difficult to break them down and they were always dangerous on the break.

"They are a good side who are comfortable on the ball. We got a bit frustrated and the crowd got a bit frustrated, and it would have been a better game for everybody if we could have got a goal.

"But I thought the players handled the frustrations well because this was our first big test here. Worksop didn't really give us any respect and I felt we were convincing winners against Wrexham.

"I was obviously disappointed we didn't win, but delighted we kept a clean sheet."

O'Driscoll tried everything to break down the visitors, including sacrificing young midfielder Brian Stock for striker Steve Fletcher after just 37 minutes. But in a high-tempo clash, punctuated by some over-fussy refereeing, chances were few and far between.

Cherries goalkeeper Gareth Stewart said: "Hopefully this will give us a good basis to build on. Earlier in the season, this is the type of game when maybe we would have conceded a silly goal and lost. But on the positive side, we kept a clean sheet and maintained the unbeaten run."

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