Shrewsbury v Cambridge: Paul Hurst set for Meadow return six years on

His goal in the 58th minute saw Salop get a 1-0 win over Charlton, which gave them a 2-0 win on aggregate over the two legs and put Town on the verge of play-off glory.

Sadly, it was not to be with Salop losing that final and Hurst subsequently moving to Ipswich.

But now, almost six years later, Hurst finds himself in a familiar position as he prepares to take charge of a Shrewsbury team on home soil.

The boss would have been delighted to have got three points during the first game of his second stint in Shropshire last weekend at Northampton.

Dan Udoh and Chey Dunkley were the pair to get the goals as Hurst got off to an almost perfect start since replacing former boss Matt Taylor.

Following Town this season has at times been a struggle for the fan base. But there were some real positive signs on the pitch last weekend, and it seems to have changed the narrative around what the remaining few months of the season could look like.

For the vast majority, when Hurst was appointed, they would have taken staying in the division, but if they can repeat the way they performed against the Cobblers then they will do that easily.

Cambridge are the visitors this time around – a side Town drew 1-1 with earlier in the season thanks to a late Taylor Perry equaliser.

In this fixture last year,Salop smashed five goals past their opponents as part of their six-match winning run.

Luke Leahy bagged a brace, while Jordan Shipley, Matt Pennington and Christian Saydee also got on the scoresheet on their way to a 5-1 triumph.

Shrewsbury, who looked a completely different side last time out now have the biggest challenge in any professional sport – consistency.

Northampton will have had very little idea what was coming from Hurst’s side whereas Cambridge will have much more idea what to expect.

You would have thought Shrewsbury will name an unchanged side, with only maybe new signing Jack Hinchy – who arrived from Brighton on loan on deadline day – coming into the squad.

It worked so well last week that it would be a surprise to see the boss make a change unless he was forced to through injury.

Cambridge have had two 0-0 draws in their most recent games, both against relegation rivals Exeter and Burton.

They do have Lyle Taylor now in their squad though. He is a player who has real quality at this level, and he made an instant impact a few weeks back, getting a goal and an assist against Fleetwood.

He will be up against the Salop skipper Chey Dunkley though, who has been saying this week how much he loves to keep a clean sheet – and interesting clash awaits.