Shropshire Star

 

Shrewsbury 0 - Notts County 0 at Oteley Road  

Shrewsbury: Garner, Herd, Langmead, Lee, Tierney, Pugh (Constable 46), Hall (Humphrey 73), McIntyre, Leslie, Davies, Hibbert (Cooke 80). Subs: Jones, Bevan.

Notts County: Hoult, Canoville, Tann, Hunt, Mayo, Butcher, Smith, Silk, Corden (McCann 88), Crow (Weir-Daley 66), Jarvis (Lee 74) Subs: Mackenzie, Parkinson.

Attendance: 5,673 (548 from Notts County).

Referee: A Haines (Tyne & Wear).

MATCH REPORT:

Two sides of Shrewsbury Town were on show yesterday, but still the one result they so badly crave is proving elusive.

What everyone connected with the club would now give for a break, any kind of break, to crack the winning formula.

The realities of football dictate that only results matter, and there is no escaping it’s now just one victory in 17 matches and 10 points accumulated out of the last available 51.

But those grim statistics fail to accurately reflect Town’s performance for the second half of their Easter Monday outing.

By that stage, they owed their supporters a showing after a stale, flat opening 45 minutes which did little to warm the hearts on another icy Shropshire afternoon.

What followed was an upbeat, high-octane, high-tempo half of attacking football which lacked only the most crucial commodity - a goal.

And there can’t be too many in the 5,673 crowd who know how that didn’t arrive.

Goal-line clearances, fine saves, goalbound shots desperately blocked - lady luck didn’t shine on Shrewsbury in Paul Simpson’s first home game in charge.

Credit to Notts County because they defended for their lives, the class of 2008 clearly not wanting to be labelled with taking the Football League’s oldest club out of the elite 92. But there is no doubt the visitors would have been relieved to hear the full-time whistle.

Positive and persistent, Town’s play in the second half lacked only a little penetration in front of the target.

Time and again they went close, but time and again they were denied.

Graeme Lee took a break from his impeccable defensive duties to head a Kevin McIntyre corner over the bar, while substitute James Constable - on for the ineffective Marc Pugh - was denied by two timely challenges from the visitors.

But the real peak of pressure built to a crescendo in the final 15 minutes.

Deservedly retaining his place, Steve Leslie proved equally capable of going around the outside to whip in the type of low, powerful crosses defenders dread, as he was at cutting inside to fire off the kind of powder-keg of a shot which brought the save of the match from Russell Hoult in injury time.

Andy Cooke was also to have a late effort chalked off for an earlier infringement, while the veteran striker’s snap shot from close range was scrambled off the line by Paul Mayo.

It was one of those days for Shrewsbury, but signs of such a grandstand finish were non-existent in a non-descript opening where Town simply couldn’t get out of first gear.

Lethargic was how Simpson described the first 45 minutes, and it was fitting that one of their best opportunities in that spell came via a scuffed Kevin McIntyre corner which hit the side of the post.

What few openings County created came in the early stages, the trickery of Wayne Corden providing Ben Herd with a few initial problems while Glyn Garner was forced into an impressive finger-tip save from Gary Silk’s 25-yard drive.

But what was probably the most lacklustre half of Simpson’s three games in charge was swiftly followed by the most polished 45 minutes of the new manager’s brief reign to date, and credit for the boss for instigating that transformation at the interval.

Simpson will now be anxious to replicate that second half display over a longer period against Bury on Saturday.

But he will also be contented to see signs of progress coming to the fore on matchdays.

A combination of results elsewhere and four Shrewsbury draws from five outings mean Town are edging closer to safety all the time, if indeed they haven’t already got enough points safely banked to guarantee survival in Coca-Cola League Two.

But, oh for a victory to end this torrid winless run and bring much-needed relief to Oteley Road.

PLAYER RATINGS: 

GLYN GARNER: Scuffed one clearance from outside his box which could have left him red-faced but the subsequent shot from Butcher, a former target of Gary Peters, went wide. That apart, his handling was good and used the ball well in the second half.

BEN HERD: The full-back looked a little uncertain in the early stages and didn’t always clear the ball at the first available opportunity. But he grew as the game went on to give the type of reliable performance we have come to expect.

KELVIN LANGMEAD: Like Herd, didn’t make the most commanding of starts but, after that initial hesitancy, did what he had to do with relative comfort as Notts County’s threat fizzled out.

GRAEME LEE: Town’s home fans will doubtless be happy with what they saw from the on-loan defender. Calm, composed and consistent, Shrewsbury - for now at least - appear to have solved the left central defensive position.

MARC TIERNEY: Steady, enthusiastic and tenacious, the former Oldham man kept Butcher under wraps. One of the game’s best players, he got forward when he could in the second half as Town set the tempo.

MARC PUGH: Disappointing showing from the winger who lasted just 45 minutes. Had the beating of Mayo on two or three occasions, but took too long to whip in the cross and was largely ineffective.

ASA HALL: Started very brightly and was picking up all the scraps in the midfield in the opening 20 minutes. Faded a little as the game went on but was always competitive until being substituted with 17 minutes remaining.

KEVIN MCINTYRE: A strong showing from the midfielder, particularly in the second half. Became increasingly influential by winning the ball and using it intelligently, while his set pieces proved the source of a fair few chances.

STEVE LESLIE: Didn’t see much of the ball in the opening period but proved what a threat he can be after the break. Continually stretched and got behind the County defence and his low but pacy crosses were a constant menace for the visitors. Denied by a fine Hoult save in injury time. A major contender for man-of-the-match.

BEN DAVIES: A little hit and miss, the captain provided quality delivery at times but occasionally drifted out of the game for brief spells. Probably his best spell came when he was moved into a central areas in the closing stages. Had several shots blocked by desperate but very impressive defending.

DAVE HIBBERT: Was isolated in the opening period as Town struggled to get support to the former Preston frontman. More of an influence after the brea.

SUBS

JAMES CONSTABLE: A lively 45 minute outing from the former Kidderminster frontman who worked tirelessly and would have been disappointed to see a few shots blocked by County’s impressive rearguard.

CHRIS HUMPHREY: One or two chances to show his pace. As Simpson admitted afterwards, the challenge now is to add an end product to that potent weapon.

ANDY COOKE: Given a place on the bench for the second game in 48 hours and had the ball in the net during his brief outing but the referee had blown for a foul.

FIRST REACTION

Midfielder Kevin McIntyre insisted tempo was the key to a much-improved second half performance.

“We have done well in the second half and we could have nicked it at the end there,” said the former Macclesfield man.

“If we had been going well and up the top of the table then one of those would probably have gone in.

“It didn’t happen but if we keep playing like that, I’m sure the wins will come. The first half was disappointing and I don’t think we played with the right tempo.

“But that changed in the second half after the gaffer got us in and told us what was expected and we deserved to win the game.”

McIntyre is confident the victories will come sooner rather than later should performances match the second period.

“It’s not been for the lads not trying - but we haven’t been on the best of runs.

“But the new manager has come in and given us fresh belief and more impetus.

“Training has been a lot more intense and the manager has encouraged us to pass the ball and relax and enjoy our football.”

By James Garrison