A snore-fest of an afternoon at the New Bucks Head was enlivened by 10 minutes of unlikely drama.

Both goals in this dour draw came in a frantic finale, but it was not enough to paper over the cracks of what was the least entertaining spectacle of the season.

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King’s Lynn offered very little quality but Telford huffed and puffed without ever showing more than the slightest hint of breaking the deadlock.

Such was the lack of goalmouth action that it took until 11 minutes into the second half for either side to even register a shot on target – and when it came, Bucks midfielder Liam Blakeman’s strike was no real test for Linnets’ keeper Scott Howie.

Dominic Dwyer’s opener eight minutes from time was a bolt out of the blue as Telford No 1 Ryan Young had been completely unchallenged up to that point.

It did at least fire the hosts to find some kind of form in the closing stages and they duly rescued a point two minutes into injury-time when Danny Carey-Bertram fired in from close range.

That solitary point was of little consolation to manager Rob Smith, who was quick to admit their title chances had taken a big hit on a day when the top two – Gateshead and Tamworth – both won.

It might have been a different story had a couple of big decisions by the officials gone in their favour.

Telford were screaming for a penalty shortly before half-time when Bradley Thomas appeared to bring Liam Blakeman down from behind.

Thomas had two goes at the midfielder, tugging at his shirt before seeming to trip him, yet Wolverhampton referee Tony Horton saw fit to punish Blakeman with a booking for diving.

There was even more frustration nine minutes from time when the home side thought they had scored off a corner.

Howie’s handling let him down as he dropped the ball and a hectic scramble ensued, with several Telford players wheeling away to celebrate amid claims the ball had crossed the line.

This time the referee looked over to his linesman for confirmation and got a clear ‘no goal’ signal from his assistant.

The Bucks were still arguing over that decision as King’s Lynn broke instantly on the left and Dwyer sprung the defence to score.

It was harsh on Telford, who had certainly been on top, yet the harsh truth was that they had been so unimaginative in the final third.

Save for the hotly-disputed penalty appeal, the best they could muster had come from left-back James Meredith – who twice saw headers blocked in the box and also curled a wicked shot just millimetres wide.

They might even have ended the game with 10 men had Horton seen fit to show Vaughan a second yellow card for what looked a poor challenge in the latter stages.

The right-back misses the next three games in any case through suspension, a spell where the strength of Telford’s squad will be tested to the full.

The games come thick and fast from here on in, and they will need to raise their standards a few steps from this disappointing showing if their hopes of glory on any of the three fronts they are still fighting are to be realised.

An instant response is needed at Vauxhall Motors tomorrow as more dropped points could leave them with a mountain to climb.

After that it’s back to the FA Trophy and the small matter of York City in the semi-finals.

York boss Martin Foyle was in the crowd on Saturday and nothing he saw will have given him the slightest cause for concern.

That’s if he stayed awake long enough to see it, of course.

By Chris Hudson