Sean McAllister pays tribute to Shrewsbury Town’s loan strategy after final win

Salop under-17s won the Professional Development League Trophy on Wednesday night after getting the better of Cardiff in South Wales.

The 2-0 victory, which came courtesy of an own goal and a finish from Harry Fallon, was the latest success story in Town’s cup run, which has seen them beat Burnley, Ipswich, Birmingham City, Walsall and Swindon on their way to the final. 

This season, Town made the call to send their youngsters out on loan to play men’s football at various levels. 

Jack Loughran, who did well on Wednesday, was one of those. He was playing for Whitchurch in the Midland Football League. 

Karsten Cairns, the Salop captain and goalkeeper Zac Prior went out to play for Northwich Victoria - both getting valuable experience. They are just a couple of examples. 

And speaking after the triumph in the Cardiff City Stadium, the head coach McAllister said those decisions have paid dividends. 

"It's just stretching them,” McAllister said. "Some have worked out really well. Jack (Loughran), for example, was at Whitchurch for the first couple of months. Absolutely flying player of the month.

"Then Whitchurch started to get back-to-back games for six to eight weeks, non-stop, two games a week.

"You can see the physical toll it had on him. He's had a few weeks of rest since coming back to us after Whitchurch finished.

"I think you could see on Wednesday the benefit of all that. He's been exposed to men's football, been kicked around a bit. But the impact is going against boys his age now, you can see he is physically too much for him. So it's been really positive stretching them guys, getting them exposed to adult changing rooms and things like that. The banter that goes on.

"Overall, the bigger picture, we went a bit over the top. We sent 10 players out on loan. I don't think that was the initial idea.

"If you look at the whole picture, I think it's been really, really beneficial. Not only for them, but for the lads underneath. 

"The under-16s have been playing under-18s since Christmas, we're even getting lads who are 15 in there now. They're standing up to it. I don't think we've had one under-18s game where we've been overawed.

"The loan isn't the right path for absolutely everyone. But I think because we've got these loans and got relationships with these loan clubs now, we can now choose the right club for them, which definitely helps.” 

It was not just a win for Salop on Wednesday, it was a comfortable one. Town had ample opportunities to add to their 2-0 lead in the first half but could not take them. 

After the break, they were more cautious, with the odd moment of excellent defending, and that helped them to get over the line.

"In the first half, I felt we should have gone in maybe three or four up,” McAllister continued. “The game plan that we worked on, they perfected it, got the chances, just missing that final finish.

“Then in the second half, at times it was back to the walls, but credit to them, they threw the bodies in the line. When they had to, they slowed the tempo and kept the ball. I still think we had half chances as well.

"They've got a lot of personality, I'll give them that. But it's excellent to see."