Town: Chris Neal, Dean Holden, Graham Coughlan (c), Kelvin Langmead, David Hibbert, Paul Murray, Steve Leslie, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, Jamie Devitt (Riza, 77), Waide Fairhurst (Bright, 77), Kevin McIntyre
Subs: Terry Dunfield, Omer Riza, Nathan Elder, Kris Bright, Harry Hooman, Andreas Arestidou, Will Richards
Goal: Hibbert 80
Torquay United: Michael Poke, Kevin Nicholson, Chris Robertson, Lee Mansell, Tim Sills (Williams, 67), Tyrone Thompson, Chris Hargreaves (c), Wayne Carlisle, Danny Stevens (Benyon, 46), Kieran Charnock, Jake Thomson (Ellis, 55)
Subs: Scott Bevan, Mark Ellis, Chris Todd, Elliot Benyon, Scott Rendell, Saul Halpin, Marvin Williams
Goal: Hargreaves 76
Referee: G D Scott
Assistant Referee (yellow): R J Jones
Assistant Referee (plain): D P Meeson
Fourth Official: R Fletcher
Attendance: 5,072 (310 away)
Martin Wild reports from the Prostar
Dave Hibbert's equaliser with just ten minutes remaining rescued a point for Town, after ten-man Torquay had threatened to steal the points with Chris Hargreaves having given the visitors a 76th minute lead.
Town make a number of changes as they return to league action. Dean Holden returns after a one-match ban, Steve Leslie lines up on the left side of midfield with Jamie Devitt occupying the opposite flank, and Waide Fairhurst takes his place up front alongside Dave Hibbert.
Former Shrews keeper Scott Bevan has to be content with a place on the bench with Michael Poke - on loan from Southampton - preferred in goal.
Town's first shot on goal came after ten minutes when Devitt found Kevin McIntyre in space around 25 yards from goal. The midfielder shifted the ball onto his left foot but sent his shot a couple of yards wide.
The blustery conditions on this bitterly cold day, was making things difficult for the players and there weren't many chances. Devitt and Leslie swapped flanks early doors in a bid to unsettle United's defenders, and moments later a superb through ball by McIntyre just eluded Fairhurst, or the home supporters may well have had something to cheer.
The deadlock was almost broken after twenty minutes with a Hibbert shot only marginally wide as Town started to ask questions of Torquay. The Devon club may well be unbeaten in five league games, but with four of those drawn, they have been unable to pull significantly away from the bottom two places.
Paul Murray earned a caution midway through the half, following a challenge from behind on Gulls skipper Chris Hargreaves near the halfway line.
Some really enterprising wing play by Leslie - from the left this time - saw him cut inside and test Poke, but the keeper turned the ball over the bar and the corner came to nothing.
Leslie almost profited again soon after but Poke was quickest to Fairhurst's low centre to frustrate the winger, who was waiting to pounce had the goalie's reactions been anything less than spot-on.
Apart from the threat carried by Kevin Nicholson's long throws, the visitors posed little danger as an attacking force. For the second week running, Chris Neal had been a virtual spectator between the Town posts.
Devitt landed a free-kick on top of the netting two minutes before half-time but deadlock remained and the teams went in goalless.
Half-Time: 0-0
Elliot Benyon came on for Danny Stevens as United boss Paul Buckle shuffled his pack during the break.
Salop opened well but Hibbert and Fairhurst got in each other's way when the ball was fed into the danger zone. Then Devitt failed to get enough curve on his right wing cross and saw the ball drift harmlessly over.
Torquay were reduced to ten men after 54 minutes when Kieran Charnock was adjudged to have put in an over the top challenge on a clearly incensed Holden. Buckle quickly sacrificed Jake Thomson with Mark Ellis introduced presumably to shore up the defence.
Shrews held the numerical advantage and you sensed a breakthrough might be enough to see off the plucky challenge posed from the men from Plainmoor.
Holden tried his luck from 30 yards but it didn't call Poke into action, and when Shrews won a free-kick on the edge of the area after McIntyre was dropped, it raised the expectancy in the crowd. Devitt though, could only find the midriff of Poke as the home side still couldn't break down the stubborn Gulls rearguard. They were defending in greater numbers now too, with Benyon leading the line up top on his own.
Holden again hit a piledriver from distance and this time Poke did have to make a save, but as he beat the ball away, there was no-one close enough to capitalise.
Town had 25 minutes in which to try and land the points. They created the best move of the match too when some neat play from a number of Town players saw Fairhurst find a good deal of room down the right. It was McIntyre's lovely ball that eventually made its way across the park, but as the youngster drove into the box, he failed to keep his shot down and Torquay escaped.
With quarter of an hour to play, the deadlock was finally broken. But it was the visitors who got the goal. Hargreaves' attempt from the edge of the box may have taken a deflection - with Neal appearing to be wrong-footed by a shot which didn't carry any particular venom behind it.
Paul Simpson had been warming up Kris Bright and Omer Riza before the goal and threw them on immediately with the two loan boys coming off.
Town's response was almost immediate. Leslie's corner saw Graham Coughlan rise like the proverbial salmon to plant the header goalwards. It sailed over the defender guarding the post and struck the inside of the upright before landing safely in the grateful arms of Poke. The linesman was very well placed and despite the Shrews player's protests that the ball had gone behind the line, he soon quelled any hopes of an equaliser.
It soon came mind, and it was a first in six weeks for Hibbert who found the corner of the net with an angled drive to lift the home fans.
Draw specialists Torquay had ten minutes in which to stretch that unbeaten run to seven, but Town looked hungry enough to end the sequence. Only the time looked likely to stop them in their tracks.
Bright did have a great chance in the first of five additional minutes but he had to take it quickly and put his shot straight at Poke. And Hibbert couldn't get a shot away after wriggling his way into the box as the seconds ebbed away.
The referee brought proceedings to a halt and though Town didn't get the win they were looking for, this was a greatly improved performance from the one here seven days ago.
Full-Time: 1-1
