Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury's Dean Henderson delight after facing 'idol' Joe Hart

Shrewsbury goalkeeper Dean Henderson relished the opportunity to face off against one of his childhood heroes as Joe Hart returned to Town.

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Hart made his first competitive appearance against his home-town club as West Ham clinched on to a goalless draw in the FA Cup third round tie at Montgomery Waters Meadow.

Manchester United loanee Henderson was given permission to play by his parent club for the first time in the competition this season.

But the 20-year-old revealed the televised cup tie was one of the easiest afternoons he has been involved with all season. Hart was busy in the first-half in particular, where he made saves to keep out Mat Sadler and Alex Rodman.

“He’s one of my idols," Henderson told ShrewsWeb.

“I was happy that I got the clearance to play because I wanted to play against him. Ten years ago I was watching him when I was growing up and he deserves huge credit for what he’s done for the country.

“I got a good rest on Saturday night expecting to have sore hands today but to be honest with you it was probably one of the easiest games I’ve played in all season.

“It’s obviously going to be hard for them coming here because it’s our cup final on a poor pitch, which we are probably more used to playing on, so it evens itself out at the end of the day and this is why the FA Cup is so good."

The replay at the London Stadium will likely take place next Tuesday (January 16) unless rearranged for television purposes.

Henderson, who recently revealed he has a job to finish at Shrewsbury in relation to remaining on loan for the entire season, conceded the away tie will be a tougher proposition for Paul Hurst's men.

"It’s going to be a big test going there on a nice pitch when they are knocking the ball around, but we will look forward to that," Henderson added.

"We are going to be on the back foot now and again, but hopefully we can ride the storm, catch them on the break and see what happens. Anything is possible when it is 11v11, so we will go there and have a right go at them."