diff --git a/fail2ban/server/datetemplate.py b/fail2ban/server/datetemplate.py
index f670cbbd..1d0b014b 100644
--- a/fail2ban/server/datetemplate.py
+++ b/fail2ban/server/datetemplate.py
@@ -219,7 +219,6 @@ class DateEpoch(DateTemplate):
 		if dateMatch:
 			# extract part of format which represents seconds since epoch
 			return (float(dateMatch.group(1)), dateMatch)
-		return None
 
 
 class DatePatternRegex(DateTemplate):
@@ -338,4 +337,3 @@ class DateTai64n(DateTemplate):
 			seconds_since_epoch = value[2:17]
 			# convert seconds from HEX into local time stamp
 			return (int(seconds_since_epoch, 16), dateMatch)
-		return None
diff --git a/fail2ban/tests/datedetectortestcase.py b/fail2ban/tests/datedetectortestcase.py
index 695f099c..15cb6f2d 100644
--- a/fail2ban/tests/datedetectortestcase.py
+++ b/fail2ban/tests/datedetectortestcase.py
@@ -132,14 +132,15 @@ class DateDetectorTest(LogCaptureTestCase):
 			(True,  True,  "1106513999.000", None), # Regular epoch with millisec
 			(True,  True,  "[1106513999.000]", "1106513999.000"), # epoch squared (brackets are not in match)
 			(False, True,  "audit(1106513999.000:987)", "1106513999.000"), # SELinux
+			(True,  True,  "no date line", None), # no date in string
 		):
-			logSys.debug('== test %r', (anchored, bound, sdate))
+			if rdate is None and sdate != "no date line": rdate = sdate
+			logSys.debug('== test %r', (anchored, bound, sdate, rdate))
 			for should_match, prefix in (
-				(True,         ""),
+				(rdate is not None, ""),
 				(not anchored, "bogus-prefix "),
 				(False,        "word-boundary")
 			):
-				if rdate is None: rdate = sdate
 				log = prefix + sdate + "[sshd] error: PAM: Authentication failure"
 				# if not allowed boundary test:
 				if not bound and prefix == "word-boundary": continue
@@ -283,6 +284,16 @@ class DateDetectorTest(LogCaptureTestCase):
 		finally:
 			datedetector.logLevel = self.__old_eff_level
 
+	def testWrongTemplate(self):
+		t = DatePatternRegex('(%ExY%Exm%Exd')
+		# lazy compiling used, so try match:
+		self.assertRaises(Exception, t.matchDate, '(20050101')
+		self.assertLogged("Compile %r failed" % t.name)
+		# abstract:
+		t = DateTemplate()
+		self.assertRaises(Exception, t.getDate, 'no date line')
+
+
 iso8601 = DatePatternRegex("%Y-%m-%d[T ]%H:%M:%S(?:\.%f)?%z")
 
 class CustomDateFormatsTest(unittest.TestCase):