Glen Taylor scored his tenth National League North goal of the season but Moors were forced to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw with AFC Telford United.
The front man’s unstoppable free-kick brought Moors level after the hosts had stolen in front early in the second half and it was Jason Ainsley’s side who looked the more likely to go on and win but they were left frustrated.
Moors showed two changes from the New Year’s Day win over Blyth Spartans as Dan Langley was handed his first start in goal and fellow new recruit Ryan Wombwell also debuted.
After a scrappy start, Moors began to enjoy some good possession and engineered the first sight of goal when Reece Kendall’s ball over the top was nodded down by Rob Ramshaw, but Glen Taylor could only fire over the bar from the edge of the area.
Ramshaw then had a chance of his own after doing well on the halfway line before exchanging passes with Taylor and driving towards goal only to see his low shot well parried by Telford keeper Joe Young.
Kendall was winning his battles down the left and getting forward to good effect, almost feeding Ramshaw for the opener with a wonderful cross which was glanced just wide of the far post by the in-form Moors midfielder.
The home side began to get a foothold back in the game and could have gone in front when Montel Gibson escaped in behind the Moors defence, but he got the ball caught under his feet and the chance evaporated.
Debutant keeper Dan Langley had already impressed with a couple of dominant catches from crosses and had to be brave to claim a ball amongst bodies on the edge of his six-yard box after a testing dead ball delivery from Brendon Daniels.
Langley then made a smart save to deny Gibson before turning over a powerful shot from Telford debutant Adam Livingstone from the edge of the area.
Moors were caught cold at the start of the second half and fell behind when Adam Livingstone was allowed to come forward and send a low ball into the box which was tucked home by Harry Flowers from close range.
Ainsley’s men cleared their heads quickly following the setback and went about getting back on level terms; John Lufudu almost provided the ammunition after a good run down the right but his ball across was just too far ahead of Taylor.
The Moors boss rolled the dice with a double change as Paul Blackett and Tom Allan were both introduced on the hour and they both made instant impacts. There were huge appeals for a penalty when Allan sent a shot on goal from six yards which seemed to strike a defender’s arm, but the referee waved away the protests.
From the resultant corner a ball into the middle skipped right through the Telford area and needed clearing off the line as Moors built up a real head of steam as they looked for the equaliser.
It duly arrived on 71 minutes when a free kick was won 25 yards out and Taylor stepped up to rifle a powerful shot past the keeper and hit double figures in National League North this season.
Allan then could have made it 2-1 when he whipped a ball in from the left which again evaded everyone before being hacked off the line by the hosts.
With five minutes left a lovely move down the right involving Ryan Wombwell and Taylor set-up Blackett with an opportunity but his well-struck shot flashed just past the post.
Full Time: AFC Telford United 1 Moors 1
AFC Telford United: Young, Livingstone, O’Brien, Flowers, Ekpolo, Nolan, Blissett, Rowe, Gibson, Daniels, Green (Chong 71).
Subs not used: Pilling, Williams, Bood, Waite.
Booked: Rowe (39), Ekpolo (69), O’Brien (73), Daniels (75)
Moors: Langley, Wombwell, Ledger, Curtis, Kendall, Anderson (Blackett 61), Boyle, Lufudu (Allan 61 (Wheatley 90)), McKeown, Ramshaw, Taylor.
Subs not used: Flatters, Thompson.
Booked: Lufudu (15), Anderson (55), Allan (90)
Referee: David McNamara
Attendance: 1,100
