Shrewsbury Town look to extend home surge as Grimsby visit the Meadow
Shrewsbury Town will look to strengthen their home grip and pull further clear of the League Two relegation zone as they welcome Grimsby Town.
After 90 minutes against Sutton United, Shrewsbury appeared to become the headline they were so desperate to avoid and crash out of the FA Cup.
However, a moment of brilliance - combined with resilience, belief and togetherness - helped them force a path to victory. And it is these qualities that have underpinned their recent upturn in results.
Salop sit just one point above the bottom two heading into the Grimsby clash, but their strong home form offers real encouragement as they aim to put daylight between themselves and the drop zone.
Michael Appleton's side may be winless in their last two league outings, yet the picture has been far brighter on home turf. Shrewsbury are unbeaten in four league matches at the Meadow, a run that includes three clean sheets and performances that have laid the foundations for their push to move clear of danger.
Their challenge now is to maintain that momentum during what promises to be a demanding festive period. With fixtures coming thick and fast, ensuring the Meadow continues to be a fortress will be vital - 12 of Shrewsbury’s 17 league points this season have come on home soil.
In their last league outing, Shrewsbury let a two-goal lead over Gillingham slip, but the three goals they scored ensured they still claimed a valuable point.
The Shropshire Star understands that Will Boyle is suspended for the clash. Josh Ruffels is also suspended after his red card against Sutton.
Striker George Lloyd netted a brace in the Gillingham contest and will hope it sparks a goal-scoring run.
"The home form is a big thing," he said. "You go into the home dressing room, and when the home form is strong, you're confident. You're like, we can do this.
"We've showed recently that we can compete against sides that are up there in the table and take them to the wire and probably win the game.
"Obviously, it's not often you score three goals and don't win the game, but it was important when Gillingham they scored their third that we didn't crumble because there's a lot of teams out there, that, and we probably at the start of the season might have done when that third one went in. We stuck it out and it could be a valuable point."
Standing in their way tonight is a Grimsby Town side who sit 12th in League Two after seven wins from their opening 18 matches - but who are currently struggling for form.
The Mariners arrive at the Meadow winless in their last five league games, a run that includes three defeats. Their most recent league outing ended in a 2-1 home loss to Tranmere on November 27, extending their slide after what had been a promising start to the campaign.
However, like Shrewsbury, they responded positively in the FA Cup at the weekend, brushing aside non-league Wealdstone 4-0 to avoid an upset and restore some belief heading into the festive schedule.
Lloyd also praised the Salop supporters for helping turn the Meadow into a more imposing venue.
He added: "The fans have done that part. We have taken a little bit of stick this year, but not huge amounts. That's a credit to them.
"They've stuck behind us. It has just been a difficult place for teams to come recently, and we've just got to keep that."
