Albion's PL2 side were held to a goalless draw by Reading on Monday.
Richard Beale's boys carved out a number of goalscoring opportunities, but they were unable to find a telling touch on a chilly night at Hednesford Town's Keys Park and were made to settle for a solitary point.
There was no shortage of decent opportunities in the first 45 minutes. Attacking duo Reyes Cleary and Fenton Heard were denied twice each by Royals goalkeeper Harvey Collins, with Heard’s close-range attempts thwarted and Cleary prevented after firing a couple of efforts at goal from 25 yards.
Winger Akeel Higgins could’ve also opened the scoring, however he dragged two identical strikes wide of the far post from a tight angle on the right side of the box.
At the other end, Reading had three big chances to score in three separate minutes shortly after the half-hour mark. Jayden Wareham saw Ted Cann block a pair of goal-bound shots either side of Charlie Wellens hitting the side-netting when clean through.
Eseosa Sule was introduced to the action at the start of the second half and he almost made an instant impact. The forward cut in from the left and powered a tremendous strike towards goal from the best part of 30 yards, only to see Collins push the ball away for a corner.
The visitors thought they had the lead on 62 minutes when Wareham tapped into an empty net from inside the six-yard box. However, the officials chalked it off after spotting a foul on Cann.
The Albion stopper was called upon 13 minutes from the end when he made a crucial save to deny Reading winger Jeremiah Okine-Peters from the left side of the penalty area.
Both teams pushed for a late winner, but it was a night where the goalkeepers and the defenders would come out on top.
ALBION: Cann, Nelson, Hall, Taylor (Phillips HT), Shaw, Mandey, Whitwell (Richards HT) Heard, Higgins (Sule HT), Love, Cleary (Mfuamba 67).
Subs: Cisse.
