Dealt a blow

fire a volley at goal from distance which crashed off the crossbar and away.

County ended the game on a similar note to how they started it when Danny Lloyd saw his best opportunity come and go in stoppage time when he curled a free-kick wide from the edge of the area, but time was quickly up for Gannon’s young side who made it a 22nd National League North tie without defeat, albeit with a point which will likely not be enough to earn a play-off berth.

The uninspiring stalemate sees County four points off the final playoff position, with The Hatters’ only potential saving grace coming on the final day of the regular season – on which all four play-off contenders play against each other.

County, despite their long unbeaten run and impressive defensive record, have one of the lowest goalscoring records in the division despite Danny Lloyd’s 27 goals in all competitions, and Gannon was again left rueing a tepid display in the final third.

“We have to give respect to the likes of Gainsborough and Worcester, who are fighting for their lives and a Worcester side who created as many chances as us on Monday. They set up to keep us quiet, and they’ll be happy that they earned a point. We can talk about Scott hitting the crossbar, or Danny firing his free-kick wide, these are all big ‘ifs’. I just don’t think our overall game had enough quality.

“Our mentality has always been to win games. We went for broke and pushed to win games earlier on in the season, but maybe it is that tiredness and fatigue which has caught up with us and meant that we don’t do that now.”