Shrewsbury Town extended their unbeaten home run to five games with a draw at home to Grimsby Town on Tuesday night.

The visitors opened the scoring from the spot as Charles Vernam sent Will Brook the wrong way in the 38th minute.

But Salop responded quickly as John Marquis powered home a header just before the break.

Grimsby had the best of the second half, but couldn't break Town's defence down for a second time.

Team news:

Boss Appleton changed up the formation for the visit of Grimsby, opting to go for a 3-4-1-2 instead of the usual 3-4-2-1.

There were a few absentees on the night with Will Boyle and Josh Ruffels suspended, while Tom Sang missed out through injury.

This meant Luca Hoole dropped into the back three alongside Sam Stubbs and Tom Anderson.

Ismeal Kabia returned to right wing-back, while Tommy McDermott and Taylor Perry came into central midfield.

Sam Clucas continued on the left with Anthony Scully operating behind George Lloyd and Marquis.

Grimsby lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Jaze Kabia led the line with Vernam and Darragh Burns out wide.

Report:

In a quiet first half that saw both teams carve out half-chances, but very few shots, the first action of the game came in the 10th minute as visiting striker Kabia put the ball in the back of the net from an offside position.

It then took almost half an hour for the next dangerous moment in the game, and it proved to be the opener.

McDermott and Jamie Walker chased down a loose ball in the box, but it escaped them both before the pair made contact, and referee Sam Mulhall pointed to the spot.

Vernam then stepped up to convert the spot kick with 38 minutes on the clock.

Town continued to press the visitors and drew themselves level before the break.

A Clucas throw was fed back to him by Anderson, and the left wing-back delivered a cross that was powerfully headed home by Marquis, leaving Grimsby goalkeeper Christy Pym rooted to the spot.

The pace of the game ramped up in the second half, although Appleton was forced into a substitution following a knock to Kabia.

He introduced Chuks Aneke to the front line, with Lloyd moving to right wing-back.

And the striker was instantly involved, seeing a shot from the edge of the box glance off the back of a visiting defender.

Grimsby started to regain control of the game around the hour mark and - with 70 minutes on the clock - Brook was forced into a brilliant reaction save to deny Kabia's back-post header from close range.

It was at this point that Appleton looked to his bench again, opting to replace Scully with Isaac England.

The young midfielder took his place next to Perry while McDermott shifted forward to the number 10 role.

But the visitors continued to maintain control of possession and it was one-way traffic for the remainder of the game.

However, they couldn't carve through Town's defence or muster up enough of a threat to test Brook again, and Town's unbeaten home run extended to five games as the points were shared.

Teams:

Shrewsbury: Brook, Anderson, Stubbs, Hoole, Clucas, Kabia (Aneke 58), Perry, McDermott, Scully (England 72), Marquis, Lloyd

Subs not used: Harrison, Benning, Biggins, Gray

Grimsby: Pym, Green (Khouri 64), Rodgers, Walker, Kabia, Staunton, McJannet, Burns (Amaluzor 86), McEachran, Tharme, Vernam (Gilsenan 86)

Subs not used: Casper, Turi, Warren, Rose

Attendance: 4,389 (336)