No goals – but plenty of food for thought for both managers after a hard-fought pre-season friendly.

Shifnal could justifiably be proud of their effort against their more illustrious neighbours at Phoenix Park

And AFC Telford United chief Andy Sinton will have seen a few things to work on, having watched his side spurn a series of gilt-edged chances.

Danny Carey-Bertram had the best two openings of the first half but fired first straight at the keeper and then blasted wide.

In between, the West Midlands League side might have snatched a shock lead – Will Kent getting on the end of a corner but sending his header inches off target.

The pace picked up a little in the second period and Alex Meechan finally drew Shifnal keeper Dom Smith into his first meaningful save on the hour.

The introduction of trialist Tyree Clarke gave the Bucks more of a threat in the final 30 minutes, and it was during that spell their best chances came.

Jon Adams was twice guilty of blazing high over the top when in good positions and then found the side-netting off a Clarke cross.

Over eager

Swiss-Cameroonian trialist Kevin Vogeli was also given an outing, though his clear desire to impress made him look a little over eager at times.

Shifnal defended resolutely and with real determination, and might even have been celebrating an unlikely victory had striker Chris Henry kept his shot on target after a neat passing move.

As it was, they had to settle for the draw – though manager Matt Flanagan certainly wasn’t complaining.

“For 60 minutes we did really well,” he said. “Overall I’m really chuffed.

“You can’t read too much into it, but hopefully it sets us up well for the season.”

The Telford chief admitted he had been impressed by Shifnal’s endeavour, and was quick to highlight areas for development in his own side.

“They did well and I got a lot out of it – it answered a few questions,” said Sinton.

“I learned that in the final third we didn’t have enough quality.

“We probably had seven or eight chances and we had six or seven on Saturday (in the 2-0 win over FC United of Manchester).

“That’s an area where we are going to have to brush up.”

By CHRIS HUDSON