It has been more than 30 years since Shrewsbury Town reached Christmas without a home League defeat.

Not since 1978-9 have Town tucked into their turkey without a blemish in front of their own supporters.

And that season, which marked the first venture into management of a certain Graham Turner, ended with the old Division Three championship trophy proudly sitting in the Gay Meadow cabinet.

So while Tom Bradshaw’s 88th minute equaliser against Cheltenham on Saturday only yielded one point, its significance in ensuring Town have still yet to suffer a mishap at the Greenhous Meadow this season should not be underestimated.

Defeat would have provided an unwelcome crack in Shrewsbury’s momentum which had already been punctured by an 18-day absence from competitive action.

But, while there were times when Town stuttered through Saturday’s action, they will enter the most hectic period on the calendar firmly in the promotion reckoning.

Bradshaw will score more aesthetically pleasing goals in what promises to be a long and fruitful career.

The young Welsh forward would be hard pushed to mount a convincing argument that he knew much about diverting a Shane Cansdell-Sherriff 25-yard strike into the bottom corner via his back.

But there is no greater attribute for a striker than being in the right place at the right time, an encouraging knack the 18-year-old appears to be developing.

So a vital goal and one Town deserved for their resilience and persistence after the break.

Somewhat understandably after kicking their heels for the best part of three weeks, Shrewsbury couldn’t find the cohesion and tempo which ruthlessly dismantled Hereford in their last outing.

But while Cheltenham deserved to be ahead at the midway point, Shrewsbury did enough in the second period to be value for their share of the spoils.

Yes, the home side enjoyed a significant bulk of possession after the break.

And, while that didn’t translate into a glut of chances, Bradshaw’s timely touch had been proceeded by Tope Obadeyi firing into the side netting and Matt Harrold and Cansdell-Sherriff heading only fractionally off target.

The late leveller was also a ringing endorsement for the strength in depth of the squad assembled by Turner.

The old adage suggests a team is only as good as what it has in reserve, and the sight of Lionel Ainsworth, Benjamin van den Broek and Bradshaw all adding a spark from the bench bodes well.

The early signs were encouraging too as Shrewsbury started brightly, Mark Wright and Jake Robinson going close in the opening 15 minutes as the home side raced out of the traps.

But as the first half progressed, so Cheltenham gradually seized the initiative.

And Town goalkeeper Chris Neal had already saved smartly from Josh Low from a tight angle and Danny Andrew from a free-kick before Wesley Thomas gave Cheltenham a deserved 25th minute lead.

He took advantage of being afforded too much space to play a neat one-two with strike partner Jeff Goulding before curling into the bottom corner from 15 yards.

Cheltenham remained on top for the remainder of the first half but Shrewsbury’s resilience shone through after the break.

It was a characteristic that was evident three decades ago when Town last reached this point of the campaign without a home defeat.

And it will be crucial again if the class of 2010-11 are to match the group of 78-79 by turning a promising first half of the campaign into a promotion.

Match analysis by JAMES GARRISON