Emiliano Insua should have made it 2-0 when Torres' cross eluded the head of Kuyt and found the full-back who positioned himself well at the far post but failed to get a good connection on the ball.
Heskey did have an unchallenged headed chance from Downing's decent free-kick but his connection was poor, with the ball slowly trickling towards the corner flag.
The duel between Sinama-Pongolle and Upson continued and on 50 minutes the Frenchman robbed Upson and sprinted away before laying the ball across for Heskey, who could not get a connection.
In the 77th minute, Ameobi got his head to the ball before Shearer but substitute Lee Bowyer failed to make a strong connection and sliced his shot wide of the post.