Derby joy for Shrewsbury Town Ladies

Hosts Town, second in the West Midlands Women’s Division One North, closed the gap on leaders Telford with a 2-1 win.

Shrews boss Tom Peevor was chuffed to see his side stick to the plan for a deserved win gained through Beth Francis’s winner.

“I was pleased with the result, it was a funny one going into it because a lot of Telford players have played for us before,” Peevor, whose side led 1-0 at half-time, said.

“For our team it’s been the big game. We were probably nervous early on but stuck to the plan and it paid off in the end.

“We did dominate the first half and should have scored more. Telford were really fired up for the second half and we did not get going.

“They equalised but we rode it and centre-back Beth Francis scored the winner which was quite nice as she’s been here for years and is Shrews through and through.

“Hopefully the win is a springboard for the rest of the season. Our last four games are at home, which suits us as it’s a big pitch and we play the right way.”

Ex-Town captain Charlotte Sewell had cancelled out Lauren Jones’s first-half opener.

Shrews now trail their rivals by one point having played a game more.