So it has all come down to this. The most significant week in Shrewsbury Town’s season – and arguably one of the most important in recent history – begins today.

Not since Gary Peters’ side prodded and probed away at Bristol Rovers at Wembley two summers ago but ultimately came up short will 90 minutes have carried so much weight for Town than at Dagenham this weekend.

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Bradford, Morecambe and Chesterfield entered and departed the last chance saloon after Saturday’s results and the play-off equation could not be any simpler.

Victory at Dagenham on Saturday will see Shrewsbury enter the play-offs on a wave of momentum which could make them a real force to be reckoned with.

Anything less and a season which, at times has promised so much, will end in disappointment.

Victoria Road will be no place for the faint-hearted and 90 spine-tingling, nerve-jangling minutes are guaranteed in ‘the play-off for the play-offs.’

As befits a huge encounter for both clubs, the fat will be chewed endlessly between now and 3pm Saturday both in Shropshire and East London. And the talking points are vast.

Will Paul Simpson’s side end the season ruing the missed opportunities which have blighted the closing weeks of the campaign, or can they produce one monumental effort to keep their promotion dream alive?

And will unfashionable but goal-laden Dagenham continue their impressive against-the-odds season, or will they become gripped by nerves as they face the dilemma of whether to stick or twist knowing a point will suffice?

From as early as half-time in the goalless stalemate with Lincoln it became clear a Town goal would have made not one iota of difference to Town’s plight.

Win or draw against the Imps and three points were still required against Dagenham.

They simply couldn’t afford a defeat which would have had the devastating consequences of ending promotion hopes before the final day

Town certainly had their opportunities to avoid a fourth successive home draw, particularly in an opening period in which they dominated with some promising build-up.

But the trio of golden chances they carved out came and went as Nick Chadwick headed a superb Steve Leslie cross wide of the post while Grant Holt was twice denied by Rob Burch in one-on-one situations after being sent clear by Town’s left-footed midfielder.

They were the type of chances the Town faithful have come to expect their record signing to gobble up, and Holt would certainly have been disappointed not to add to his tally of 27 for the season.

But if Shrewsbury’s performance in the first half warranted a lead, potentially an unassailable one, they didn’t do enough to break the deadlock after the interval as they struggled to build up any momentum.

Chadwick prodded a Ben Davies shot just the wrong side of the target but, that apart, Town couldn’t stretch the Lincoln defence as they attempted to balance their push for victory with the necessity to avoid defeat.

That created an open final 20 minutes and the occasional nervous moments for the hosts, particularly when a Stefan Oakes free-kick looped up off Luke Daniels and just over the bar.

Five minutes of injury time failed to produce a goal in an afternoon which developed a calm-before-the-storm feel as Shrewsbury ended a run of five straight home defeats in this fixture.

But no sooner had the final whistle sounded than attention was switching to next weekend.

It will be an occasion to define the season and, as Simpson pointed out afterwards, one for brave hearts and calm heads.

Only time will tell if Shrewsbury can bring those qualities to the party when it matters most.

By James Garrison