No winning start for new Forest Green boss Hockaday

Forest Green Rovers 0 Ebbsfleet United 0: Though Dave Hockaday's first voyage at the helm of the good ship Forest Green was relatively smooth, he must acquire firepower from somewhere if they are to avoid being sunk without trace.

Rovers' new manager was unable to conjure up a first victory in 10 matches this season, or end a Blue Square Premier goal drought which has lingered for more than seven-and-a-half hours.

Injuries did not help his cause, particularly the hamstring strain which kept out his predecessor and frontman David Brown, but here was more evidence of a lack of lethal weapons in the New Lawn arsenal.

Hockaday blooded all three of his new signings in goalkeeper David Wilkinson, right-back Jeffrey Imudia and on-loan Wycombe man Lewwis Spence as a withdrawn forward.

Yet his side began with some fluency, and they could have taken the lead in the fourth minute, when Sean Rigg got on the end of Paul Stonehouse's cross but volleyed weakly at Lance Cronin.

The visitors did not threaten until the 17th minute, when Gavin Heeroo's low shot deflected off Mark Ellis and was fielded by Wilkinson.

A slow-paced contest degenerated in quality after that, and an unscheduled drinks break midway through the first half was as much a relief to the spectators as the players.

It took a sudden burst of pace on the right from Steve Davies to reignite proceedings. The former Cirencester winger cut the ball back into the penalty area for Spence, whose shot was parried by Cronin and cleared away to safety.

Ebbsfleet were quicker out of the blocks at the start of the second period, yet conversely could have fallen behind on the hour when Ellis headed wide at the far post from Spence's cross.

Conal Platt's wayward shot for Rovers from 25 yards in the 80th minute summed up how both sides were running out of ideas, yet one moment of magic could still win it.

And it nearly came for the hosts at the death when Rigg's 20-yard effort was well saved by Cronin, who then reacted sharply to keep out the rebound from substitute Marcus Palmer.

The latter had entered the fray as a replacement for 19-year-old Imudia, whose near faultless debut was ended prematurely by cramp. A former trainee at Arsenal and Everton, the athletic defender has followed Hockaday to Nailsworth from the Southampton Academy and looks to be an inspired acquisition.