Report: Shrewsbury Town crash out of FA Cup with heaviest defeat of the season at Wolves

A strong Wolves side put six past League Two strugglers Salop, who were left facing an even tougher task after conceding twice inside the opening 11 minutes.

John Marquis won and converted a spot kick to give Shrewsbury hope, but Jorgen Strand Larsen added two further goals to complete his hattrick before Rodrigo Gomes added a fifth and Tolo Akokodare a avoid to seal the crushing victory for Wolves.

The defeat was Shrewsbury’s heaviest of the season so far and one of the heaviest in recent history. Although the visitors were competitive at times, the gulf between the two sides ultimately proved too great.

Teenage recruit Iwan Morgan was handed his debut, while latest Salop signing Trey Ogunsuyi was named among the substitutes.

Michael Appleton made four changes to the side that faced Bristol Rovers on New Year’s Day, with goalkeeper Elyh Harrison featuring in his first game since September.

Almost 3,000 travelling supporters backed Town at Molineux as they looked to reach the fourth round for the first time since the 2019/20 season.

The season before that marked the last time Shrewsbury faced Wolves, in a dramatic FA Cup fourth-round tie that saw Salop beaten in a replay.

And, as in that previous clash, Shrewsbury found themselves behind early on, caught out after just nine minutes.

Ladislav Krejci picked out Hwang Hee-chan’s run in behind with a clever through ball, and the forward squared for Strand Larsen to finish with a stylish flick.

Wolves supporters had barely finished celebrating the opener before the Premier League side doubled their advantage two minutes later.

Once again, Shrewsbury were caught in behind as Jhon Arias escaped the back line - and the recovering Sam Clucas - to slot home calmly past Harrison.

It left Shrewsbury facing an uphill battle, but in a chaotic opening they hauled themselves back into the tie on 26 minutes.

Marquis was fouled by Arias on the edge of the area, with referee Stephen Martin adjudging the challenge to have occurred inside the box. The striker stepped up to convert the penalty, sending Sam Johnstone the wrong way and the Salop fans into raptures.

Wolves had chances to restore their two-goal lead as Strand Larsen somehow failed to tap in at the back post from a Joao Gomes cross, before Krejci fired wide.

However, disaster struck less than five minutes before the break when Harrison gifted Strand Larsen possession with a wayward pass from the back, and the Wolves striker made no mistake in finding the empty net for his second of the afternoon.

It was a deflating moment for Shrewsbury heading into half-time, and just minutes after the restart Strand Larsen almost completed his hat-trick, heading narrowly over.

Sam Clucas went close for the visitors approaching the hour mark, latching onto a loose ball and firing low at goal, but his effort was dealt with well by Santiago Bueno.

That chance proved a turning point, as at the other end Wolves claimed their fourth and Strand Larsen completed his hattrick.

The striker was left unmarked inside the box, found by Arias, and produced a quality finish into the bottom-right corner.

Appleton handed new loan striker Ogunsuyi his debut with less than 20 minutes to go, introducing Jack Loughran alongside him, but the contest was already beyond Shrewsbury’s reach.

After going close on several occasions, Wolves finally added a fifth through Rodrigo Gomes at close-range, moments after Fer Lopez hit the post. 

And things went from bad to worse as Tolo Akokodare scored Wolves’ sixth to add to Salop’s misery. 

Lineups 

Shrewsbury Town XI: Harrison, Hoole, Anderson, Boyle; Clucas, Ruffels (Loughran,74), Perry, McDermott, Kabia; Morgan (Ogunsuyi, 74), Marquis

Unused subs Brook, Benning, England, Gray, Aneke, Lloyd, Stewart

Wolves XI: Johnstone, Tchatchoua, Doherty, S.Bueno, Krejci, Wolfe, Andre, J.Gomes, Arias, Hwang, Larsen.

Referee: Stephen Martin

Attendance: 24,258 (2,982 away)