Shrewsbury Town 0-0 Burton Albion – Lewis Cox's player ratings

Reporter Lewis Cox rates Sam Ricketts' players as they kept a third home league shutout in three this season.

Max O'Leary – Had precious little to do after being well protected by the solid defence in front of him again. Made one decent save from a Ryan Edwards shot barely 30 seconds after half-time that showed good concentration and alertness. Came to claim crosses well. 6

Omar Beckles – Deserves plaudits for how he has performed in the handful of games since replacing the injured Ro-Shaun Williams. He defended very well here with a number of fine clearances from dangerous Burton crosses. A good last-ditch block late on didn’t look like handball. 7

Ethan Ebanks-Landell – Dominant in the air and looked back to the defender that started the first couple of games so well. Ebanks-Landell has set high standards so far this season. Is an imposing presence uses his height well to clear most thrown his way. Burton had no answers. 7

Aaron Pierre – A couple of loose passes early on but he recovered well. One iffy moment at the beginning of the second period almost let Burton in but O’Leary saved. Pierre, like his defensive partners, is an imposing characters who gives very little change to attackers. 7

Donald Love – His best outing for Town so far in what is beginning to be a very impressive start to the former Scotland youth international’s Shrewsbury career. So committed in the challenge and with boundless energy, he is a surefire fans’ favourite. Very willing. 7

Dave Edwards – The skipper admitted it was his poorest performance so far this season in conditions he found very difficult. Still had Town’s best chance of the day and should have got the monkey off his back by scoring. Good he is getting the chances, but room for improvement. 6

Brad Walker – A full league debut for Shrewsbury for the January signing from Wrexham and, after coming in from the cold, he did OK and can be pretty pleased. Assured on the ball and showed signs of his quality and physically he did pretty well. A decent option if low down pecking order. 6

Josh Laurent – A big boost to have the energetic midfielder back from pesky muscle injuries. He did tire and go off with cramp late on but showed flashes of what he is about. Imagination, technique and drive. A few occasion he got Town going in a way their other midfielders don’t. Boost. 7

Ryan Giles – One of the tougher outings yet but the Telford-born whizzkid who found it rather tough against experienced stopper John Brayford. Giles beat him a couple of times early on but the right-back came out on top and Giles found it tough to speed past his marker. 6

Shaun Whalley – Not his most influential performance of the season and it was telling that he came off at 0-0 with 15 minutes to play. A couple of nice balls into the box and he was his usual busy self but there was a lack of involvement. Rightly denied a penalty in the first half. 6

Steve Morison – Surprisingly given another start after other strikers had scored at Accrington Stanley. Morison had a couple of busy moments early on but faded and was barely given any time after half-time. Must affect things for his side more. Needs better service and to look sharper. 6

Subs:

Fejiri Okenabirhie (Morison, 52) – A really lively introduction from the bench. Busy and good in most departments but didn't get a sniff on goal. 7

Louis Thompson (Laurent, 72) – Another exciting cameo for the on-loan Norwich midfielder. Showed again he is a strong runner with bundles of energy. 6

Daniel Udoh (Whalley, 74) – Couldn't quite making a telling impact on things in 15 minutes but linked well with Okenabirhie on his way back to full fitness. 6

Subs not used: Murphy (gk), Golbourne, Rowland, McCormick.