ALVECHURCH boss Ian Long called on his side not to lose focus on their title challenge after a draw at rivals Hereford kept them in the promotion hunt.

Church, cheered on by a 175 strong travelling army at Edgar Street, came from behind to earn a share of the spoils.

Nick Wright bagged a 54th minute goal to cancel out Ryan Green's eighth minute header.

The game was watched by a huge 4,026 crowd in Hereford but Alvechurch showed mental toughness to ensure they were not overawed by the size of the occasion.

They remain 12 points behind the Bulls but have five games in hand.

They now have a chance to really pile the pressure on Hereford, who do not play again in the league until February 6.

During that time, the Lye Meadow were set to entertain Quorn on Tuesday night (7.45pm ko) and Brocton on Saturday (3pm ko).

Long said: "I think a draw away from home at Hereford is a better result for us than it is for them.

"It keep the title race very interesting and I think it's a three horse race between ourselves, Hereford and Sporting Khalsa.

"We've got to try and put Saturday's game out of minds now because the Quorn and Brocton matches are now the most important games.

"If we keep up our form, the home game against Hereford in March will be a huge game."

Church can take heart from a tough performance at Hereford, who had previously won ten league home games in a row.

They were caught out when an unchallenged Green headed home from a corner but managed to keep Hereford at bay despite weathering heavy pressure.

Wright, who was preferred to Josh March, finished emphatically after a sweeping counter-attacking move from a Hereford corner.

Long said: "We decided to start Nick because of his big game experience and it was great to see it pay off.

"I was disappointed with the way we played in the first half and the defending for their goal was poor.

"We were working hard but not playing well but I told the lads at half-time they had nothing to lose and they reacted very well."

He added: "I must say the referee and his assistants were also excellent, they coped well with a huge crowd and deserve some praise."