A superb save in each half from Lukas Jensen earned Stanley a 0-0 draw at fellow strugglers Cheltenham.

The Burnley loanee denied Taylor Perry with a save low to his right after a slick attacking move in the 11th minute as the home side made the stronger start.

Jensen, who saved a penalty in the midweek draw at Port Vale, made an even better stop to keep out Liam Sercombe’s effort in the 57th minute.

Cheltenham’s leading scorer Alfie May wasted a clear opportunity to break the deadlock early in the second half as he miscued wide with the goal gaping after Aidan Keena’s pull-back.

The Reds’ only chance of note fell to Sean McConville, who saw his volley blocked by Luke Southwood after Rosaire Longelo’s low delivery from the right just before half-time.

May forced Jensen into evasive action again 10 minutes before the end but once again the Danish goalkeeper was equal to it and Sercombe volleyed wide late on.

Cheltenham are still waiting for their first league win of 2023, while Stanley remain in the bottom four but climb one place to 22nd.

John Coleman admitted his side look set to go the distance in their battle to survive in the third tier.

He said: “Who wrote A Tale of Two Cities? Dickens? Well, that was a tale of two halves.

“We’ve got to build on that first-half performance but it’s still only a point. It’s going to be a scrap from now until the end of the season.

“We had two good chances and they had four to be fair. When the opportunities present themselves we have to take them.

“They played for a lot of long throw-ins but we defended them really well. They upped their game in the second half and credit to our lads for working as hard as they did.

“It’s going to be a long, hard slog but that’s another point closer to the magic 50 mark.”