Could it be that we have just witnessed one of the pivotal weeks of Shrewsbury Town’s season?

A seven day period during which Town dropped as low as eighth in League Two has culminated with them in profit to the tune of five points and four places in a congested top of the table.

But, arguably even more crucially, the spell has once again restored a belief within Graham Turner’s squad that the ultimate ambition of automatic promotion is within their grasp.

Human nature dictates that the doubts may have crept in during the post-Christmas wobble.

But the last week has seen Shrewsbury’s performance graph line take a gradual inclide, from the solid if frustrating draw at Barnet, to an impressive victory at Accrington, and now to a highly encouraging goalless draw with the league leaders.

One glance at the League Two table confirms Chesterfield as the division’s outstanding team to date.

But a side which has readily opened clear daylight between themselves and their rivals were forced to rely on their survival instincts for much of an encounter which saw Town almost permanently on the front foot between the 30th and 80th minutes.

Credit to Chesterfield for standing firm when many sides may have buckled on an afternoon when a pair of the more fancied promotion candidates slugged it out.

Indeed, the visitors almost staged a major smash-and-grab raid as they spurned two good chances to snatch all three points in the closing 10 minutes.

Town goalkeeper Ben Smith was rarely called into action until that stage, but would have been relieved to see defender Simon Ford rifle too high from 15 yards before Dean Smalley spurned an even more presentable opportunity, when he skied over from close range after a neat turn and cross from substitute Jack Lester.

That those were the visitors only two genuine chances was credit to a Shrewsbury defence which was marshalled superbly by captain Ian Sharps and kept a lid on opponents who have found the net 49 times already this term.

At the other end, there were times when the hosts had Chesterfield at full stretch as Town proved the dominant force, particularly either side of half-time.

They were to have numerous chances, although – and this would be one of the few criticisms of the Town display — while Chesterfield keeper Tommy Lee was regularly called into action, he was rarely over-extended.

Arguably, Shrewsbury’s best chance came when a clever ball over the top from Sharps sent Craig Disley clear, only for the midfielder to be gripped by indecision at the crucial moment, failing to shoot or pass with any purpose and allowing Lee to gather gratefully.

Elsewhere, link-ups between Mark Wright and Tom Bradshaw created chances for either player while James Collins forced Lee into one fine parry away.

Bradshaw was also just wide with another 25-yard effort while two headers from Steve Leslie were narrowly off target.

Such was Shrewsbury’s control of proceedings, there would have been some frustration that they failed to inflict Chesterfield’s fourth League defeat of the season.

The gap between the two sides remains at 10 points and, with Town having played one game more, that is a significant deficit to retrieve.

But, by the same token, there is no doubt that Shrewsbury’s season is back on track.

And if they end it celebrating promotion in May, the importance of the seven day period which has just culminated should not be underestimated.

Match analysis by JAMES GARRISON