WORCESTER City claimed a point from a frenetic game of contrasting halves in which neither side properly seized control.

Lye made the most of gaps down the City right to create a series of gilt-edged chances in the first half with the home side’s glimpses of attacking promise proving fruitless.

A change of shape and the introduction of Liam Lockett changed things after the interval but it was Worcester’s turn to spurn opportunities.

Chris Withington’s blast inside the near post made that pressure pay but the play was still fast and loose with basic mistakes contributing to Jason Wood's lobbed leveller from all of 35 yards six minutes later.

The scrap continued from there with the match crying out for a calming influence that never materialised.

After a scruffy start, Lye’s Lewis Worsey drew out Jordan Stoddart and curved into Jack Till who forced his way past George Forsyth only to fire over from eight yards 17 minutes in.

It was a similar story six minutes later with Till fluffing his lines from the edge of the six-yard box before Worsey collected a deep ball from the right, cut inside Stoddart but was thwarted at close quarters by City keeper Dan Jezeph.

Half chances came and went for City before Lye finished the first half with a flourish.

Jack Pearlman narrowly failed to connect with a Ben Billingham free-kick in front of goal and Jezeph had to paw over another Worsey effort from point-blank range.

Half-time came at the right time for City and the tide swiftly turned with Jordan Harrison’s shot deflected wide and Luke English heading high into the air having got across his marker from the corner that followed.

Joe Bates then fired across goal from an impossible angle with Harrison just unable to connect on the slide before.

The breakthrough arrived on 57 minutes when crisp low ball was cushioned by Harrison into the path of Withington whose rising shot seemed to catch a deflection on its way past keeper Reece Francis.

But no sooner had City edged ahead, an ill-advised pass inside by substitute James Baldwin saw Wood get past Withington and shrug off an attempted trip to send the ball sailing over Jezeph, who had impressed until that point, from distance.

While the equaliser was warranted on balance of play, it came at just the wrong time with Worcester on the front foot and the match descended into something of a scrap from there.

Lewis Probert’s rocket flashed across Jezeph’s goal minutes later with English misdirecting another header from Lockett’s flag kick at the other end.

Francis did well to swat away a close-range Harrison header, while Baldwin had his moments without managing to meaningfully breach the 18-yard box.

Lockett and Baldwin combined to tee up Harrison whose shot was subjected to another vital intervention as the clock struck 90 to sum up an exasperating afternoon.

City: Jezeph, Weir, Osbourne, Forsyth, Stoddart, English, Birley (Lockett, h-t), Withington, Harrison, Evans (Willis, 79), Bates (Baldwin, 58). Unused subs: Caines, Gilder (g/k).

Lye: Francis, Colley, Probert, Pearlman, Pardoe, Lawley, Skeldon, Wood, Till, Billingham (Shilvock, 80), Worsey. Unused subs: McKenzie, Paskin, Meacham, Bala.

Attendance: 359.