Five things we learned from Shrewsbury Town's win over Bristol Rovers
Shrewsbury Town continued their survival bid by lifting themselves from the foot of League One with a 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers - but what did we learn from the win? Lewis Cox takes a look.
Coping with Absentees
Town went into the visit of Bristol Rovers without skipper Adam El-Abd, midfielder Gary Deegan and forward Ivan Toney.
All three were suspended and Paul Hurst was concerned about losing the spine of his team.
Replacements Jack Grimmer, Ian Black and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake all enjoyed a decent afternoon and showed Town's squad can cope with losing bodies to injuries and suspensions.
The trio are also suspended for Boxing Day at Bolton.
Point made by Ebanks-Blake
He's bided his time for more game time and the former Wolves forward put in an eye-catching shift in his first start in three months on Saturday.
The 31-year-old looked more agile than he has in previous months, with the boss praising hard work carried out behind the scenes.
The Chesterfield loanee is with Town until January and has a couple more outings on the horizon over the festive period to prove Shrewsbury should keep him on their books.
Louis Dodds is key
Town's No.10 arrived from Port Vale in the summer with a big reputation and is beginning to really prove his worth to Hurst's side.
His goal against Rovers, a third in three games, leaves him as Town's top scorer this term with seven goals.
Dodds has scored all sorts of goals and has been a key man given the absence of form and fitness to Toney and AJ Leitch-Smith.
His best goal haul for a season is 10 and the schemer – who played more than 300 games for Vale – is aiming to eclipse that.
Greenhous Meadow fortress
Hurst would argue that Town's home is not exactly at 'fortress' stage yet but the record under Shrews' new boss is mightily impressive.
Town have gone five games – and 450 minutes – in front of their own fans without conceding under Hurst.
That record is more telling given the goals they conceded by the shed-load earlier in the season.
It's the sort of record that can help Salop get out of trouble and ease their relegation fears. Fleetwood are the next visitors, on January 2.
Warrior Ogogo
The midfielder was named my Shropshire Star man of the match and was an unmoveable defensive barrier, particularly in the second period.
While the visitors, buoyed on by a big following, didn't create much, they delivered cross after cross and Ogogo was at the forefront of keeping Rovers out.
The stand-in skipper returned against Millwall seven days prior and his combative, restless style is proving influential in the heart of the midfield as Town impress and improve under Hurst.
