Fleetwood 3 Shrewsbury Town 2 - Report and pictures

[gallery] Ten-men Shrewsbury Town staggeringly blew a two-goal lead as Fleetwood staged a 27-minute comeback to secure FA Cup progression.

Analysis

The Cod Army will visit Bristol City in the third round thanks to a 95th minute Ash Hunter winner after Salop had taken a 2-0 lead on the hour.

But before scoring the second the visitors had lost their skipper Adam El-Abd to a sending off and struggled to recover as Fleetwood sniffed a comeback.

Hurst made just the one change from Saturday's win at Millwall as birthday boy Olly Lancashire came in for the injured Ryan McGivern for a third Fleetwood meeting in under a month.

The switch meant Mat Sadler, who had so impressed in the heart of defence, returned to left-back to accommodate Lancashire.

Uwe Rosler's Cod Army surprisingly left out joint-top scorers David Bell and Ashley Hunter, who both have eight goals apiece this season.

During the League One fixture a fortnight ago Town enjoyed a decent 15 minutes but faded badly on their way to a 3-0 reversal.

But this time, in the mild heat despite a downpour, Shrewsbury came out of the traps like a side bursting with confidence and played slick football all around a static home side who seemed bewildered.

It was some of the more attractive periods of play seen in the nine games under Hurst and Salop's eye-catching football was yielding chances.

It was an early error from home skipper Nathan Pond that presented Louis Dodds with a presentable chance but the attacker could not generate the power on his lob.

Junior Brown, who kept hold of his recent wide left midfield position, manufactured a chance out of sheer will after robbing Joe Davis but his wicked cross was just ouf of Ivan Toney's reach.

Shrews' on-loan Newcastle forward Toney was heavily involved but struggled for a clinical tough and had the look of a forward who had netted just once in front of his new boss.

A stark example was after Dodds' pass released Toney over the top but the striker struggled to control the ball and outpace Pond.

Hurst's side were keeping Fleetwood at bay with ease and deserved a goal for their first-half exploits.

It arrived two minutes before the break as O'Brien lashed in his first for the club. Dodds' flicked ball seemed to have Toney strayed offside but the Scot took over, took his time before blitzing a finish under Alex Cairns. It was the least the visitors deserved.

Following an impressive first period, Shrews' task was doubled in stature moments after the break as skipper Adam El-Abd was shown a straight red card by referee Mark Heywood.

It was the captain's second dismissal of the season and Town's first in five games.

Despite the sudden blow, the blue and amber away support were joyfully chanting Que Sera Sera on the hour mark as Dodds' fine second doubled their lead.

O'Brien, who was everywhere, released Dodds and the midfielder struck his second in two games with a composed low finish.

But Salop's second acted as a shock to spark the hosts into life. A barrage of crosses pepped the Town box and Town looked light without El-Abd's influence.

Three minutes later Devante Cole could barely miss when found unmarked on six-yards from Jack Sowerby's cross and Fleetwood were back in it.

Roser and the home support audibly backed their side and it looked a question of when not if the Cod Army would draw level.

Chris Long somehow headed over from six yards out before Cole's lashed effort was saved and impressive sub Ash Hunter volleyed wide.

Fleetwood were rampant but It took until the 77th minute for their equaliser and the Cod Army were bubbling under as they profited from a needless Toney foul, Shrews couldn't clear the free-kick and Cole smashed home his second.

For long periods it looked like both sides were happy to settle for extra time as neither were able to fashion an opening during the final 10 minutes.

But a renewed sense of urgency came as the officials added on five minutes of added time and Fleetwood weren't quite done.

Long found himself in a yard of space on the right of the Salop box and squares for Hunter to simply tap in after four minutes of four added on.

A thumping hammerblow was almost cancelled out as, remarkably, there was still time for Dodds to hit the post in the last kick of the game after Deegan's free-kick, with the rebound inches from Lancashire - but it wasn't Shrewsbury's day.