Analysis: Shrewsbury comeback stunning and surprising in equal measure

You needed to be at the Croud Meadow on Saturday afternoon to believe what happened.

At half-time, with Shrewsbury a goal and a man down, the chances of getting anything from the game looked slim.

Salop had only managed to win five times this season against 11 men - and given the fact they were a man down and had produced a poor first-half performance against Nigel Clough's Mansfield, few could have predicted the 45 minutes that followed.

It truly was a game of two halves, as everything they didn't do in the first period, they did in abundance after the break.

It was the third game in a busy week and Shrewsbury were miles off it in the opening 20 minutes, and it wasn't until an injury to Jamal Blackman, that Town managed to get some control in the game.

Gareth Ainsworth spotted what was going wrong, and as the Town keeper received treatment - Shrewsbury regrouped on the touchline.

The boss moved Josh Feeney into the middle of the park and switched from a back five to a back four.

And that worked. Town finally managed to stop the onslaught of Mansfield attacks.

But just when they thought that they'd recovered, it got immeasurably worse as his side were reduced to 10 men.

From that moment on it felt like there was an inevitability about the result given the way the season has gone for Salop.

But with Ainsworth in charge, there is always a chance. He's tactically astute, and somehow, Town managed to play the second half and not actually look like they had a man less than Mansfield.

That was in part due to how hard his players worked in that second 45 minutes of football. To a man, they rallied against adversity and were outstanding against all the odds.

Part of his half-time team talk involved asking his players if they had won games with 10 men before and making them believe a positive outcome was still possible in the match.

He got just the response he wanted from his players.

It was not without alarm. There was the occasional heart-in-mouth moment as Town did need to ride their luck a little bit to ensure the ball stayed out of their net.

There were a couple of blocks too. One brilliant one from Aaron Pierre and a couple of important interventions from Blackman in the Town goal.

But Shrews deserved their victory against a shell-shocked Mansfield side who fell to their fifth consecutive defeat. From their point of view to be 1-0 up and cruising against bottom-of-the-league - to end up losing was a disaster.

Salop boss Ainsworth made three changes to the side who lost against Stockport in Greater Manchester in midweek. 

Pierre returned for his first appearance since the cross-border derby win over Wrexham - Luca Hoole also returned from a hamstring injury. 

Taylor Perry had not started for the Shrews head coach since the 1-1 draw against Northampton at the end of December, he was recalled to the starting XI. 

Town endured a disastrous start to the match when former youth player Evans put Mansfield ahead. 

A shot came from outside the box, and the 27-year-old controlled the ball and instinctively finished beyond Jamal Blackman. 

It was an awful start by Salop, who were at sixes and sevens. Every time the visitors came forward, it looked like they would score. 

Shrews regrouped. That was until Nsiala got himself sent off. Pierre had lost a duel with Lee Gregory, and the Mansfield striker had then beaten Nsiala for pace. 

When he fouled him outside the box, you knew what the outcome would be. He had given referee David Rock no choice, and Nsiala was sent for an early bath. 

Town managed to get through to the break without any further damage. 

Nine minutes into the second period, they were level when Marquis headed home at the back post. 

Mansfield were stunned, and they were even more stunned moments later when George Lloyd completed the turnaround. 

His left-footed shot just past the hour mark had turned the game on its head - he had been played in by Gilliead another player who was crucial to the comeback - and the former Cheltenham man fired beyond Christy Pym. 

Pierre produced a monumental block to keep the lead intact. The ball had come into the danger area after smashing the post, but the defender was there to deny Clough's side. 

It was twice cleared off the line in stoppage time, but Shrews clung on to a monumental three points in the context of the season. 

Off the field, there is still much work to do for Shrewsbury if they intend to have a good stab at staying in League One.

They have had some challenges getting players in this month. Ainsworth wants forwards, and making sure they get some to add to their numbers is just as vital as the win on Saturday.