Analysis: Shrewsbury Town’s away-day woes deepen with thrashing at MK Dons
For Shrewsbury Town supporters, the elation of an away-day victory has become an increasingly distant memory.
Just one League Two win on the road all season, six points from 13 away matches - the worst record in the division - and another long journey home with familiar frustrations have underlined a trend showing little sign of easing.
Michael Appleton has long stressed the importance of claiming the first goal away from home, and it took the hosts just minutes to do exactly that - instantly making Town’s task far more difficult.
Stadium MK was always likely to provide one of the sterner tests in League Two, but the ease with which MK Dons dispatched Appleton’s side was the most concerning aspect of all.
There was little shock in the defeat itself. Facing the division’s top scorers, in-form and brimming with confidence, Salop knew they would need to be near flawless to emerge with anything tangible. Yet, in the opening period, their opponents scarcely had to move through the gears.
Buoyed by a first league win since mid-November, Shrewsbury arrived hoping momentum could trump form. Any momentum, however, was short-lived, as the hosts’ firepower and home dominance quickly told - leaving Salop once again glancing over their shoulder.
Defeat at MK Dons underlined the scale of Town’s away-day problems. They remain winless on the road in nine League Two matches since September 6. It was a third consecutive away league loss and their heaviest defeat of a difficult campaign.
Given an early foothold, MK Dons simply did not let go. The contest was effectively decided almost as soon as it began.
An early concession was a huge blow, a second moments later reduced belief further, and the third extinguished it entirely. By the interval, the game was already beyond reach.
