THE spectators were not happy but Ernest Borel and Sing Tao both seemed content with a dreary 0-0 draw in the Hongkong First Division at Mongkok Stadium last night.
The final whistle was met with boos and jeers by the crowd of 1,141.
Sing Tao, who had lost their previous two league games, were reduced to 10 men for the last 15 minutes with the dismissal of central defender Sammy Wong Wai-tak for a clumsy foul on Borel's nippy front-runner, Au Wai-lun.
And Borel, fielding new recruit Tony Finnigan in midfield, collected their first point for more than three months and kept only their second clean sheet in 10 league and cup games.
Sing Tao's point enabled them to move above Kitchee into fourth place in the 10-team table, while Borel increased their tally to eight, two points clear of the relegation zone.
Borel 'keeper Tim Dalton summed up the relief in the camp at having ended a depressing run of five successive defeats.
''The confidence in the team has been very low so any sort of result for us was important, especially coming off two 4-0 defeats,'' said the 27-year-old Dalton.