MALVERN Town were left to rue a host of missed chances as they were held to their first stalemate of the season by Shifnal Town at the Langland Stadium.
Having fired four past Bustleholme last week, with Dave Reynolds bagging a brace, Les Jones’ men would have been confident of continuing their scoring form.
But they failed to find their finishing touch on Saturday, while keeper Vitor Pinheiro and Shifnal’s defence held firm to claim a share of the spoils.
The tone was set in the opening minute when Lee Hooper scooped his shot over the bar after Reece King put the striker through on goal.
Despite the early opportunity, the match struggled to get going until Lewis Platt let fly on the half hour mark. Louis Loader rounded a defender before rolling the ball to Platt, whose 25 yard strike shaved the crossbar.
Pinheiro then came to the rescue for Shifnal as he produced a fine save to deny Loader from giving his side the lead just before the break.
Both sides continued to search for a breakthrough in second half and Malvern thought they had finally broke the deadlock when Sam Daffin fired home on the 69th minute.
But the 17-year-old’s celebrations were cut short when he saw the assistant referee raise his flag.
Malvern keeper Charlie Weaver, meanwhile, did not have a meaningful shot to save all game. The best chance the visitors had to score came in the final five minutes when Tom Worthington failed to hit the target from close range.