In footballing parlance, the first of the leaders’ debates was a score draw and a pretty dull one at that.

The limitations of the format - with a messy attempt to get every election topic in - meant there was little time for either Jeremy Corbyn or Boris Johnson to develop arguments around their key election policies or to be properly pressed on them by the audience.

Both sought to underline their key election commitments with varying degrees of success: Boris Johnson asserting that getting Brexit done would open up the prospect of getting on with other important domestic political issues.

Jeremy Corbyn marking out Labour’s territory as the party that spoke up for the many not the few and would safeguard the NHS from privatisation.

If there was little new from either in terms of substance that was probably their strategy.

There were moments when the pair got a taste of just how disillusioned voters were with politicians.

The first came when Boris Johnson was asked if truth mattered in politics and drew derisory laughs from the audience when he invited them to look at his record.

Jeremy Corbyn meanwhile was lightly booed when he repeatedly refused to say on which side he would be on a further public vote on Brexit.

If there were no outright winners, there were no real losers either: neither delivered a knockout blow to their opponent; both were still standing after 50 minutes trading punches.

No wonder snap polls after suggested that it was pretty even, with Boris just edging it but not decisively.

A portent perhaps of the election result next month.

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