Shrewsbury Town chase three straight away wins with tough Chesterfield test
Buoyed by back-to-back road victories, Shrewsbury Town travel to Chesterfield seeking their first hat-trick of away wins in three years.
A lengthy period of this season was spent wondering when the next away league win might come. After 168 days, Salop ended that wait with a fantastic win at Accrington Stanley and followed it up with a superb comeback victory at Salford City.
Defeat to Walsall was a slight dent in their impressive upturn. They now face a high-flying Chesterfield side, unbeaten in their last five home league matches and with just a single defeat in eight.
While they could not match the run of six wins in a row set three years ago under Steve Cotterill, Town could achieve three consecutive away wins for the first time since that run.
Salop are no longer looking over their shoulder, yet they know their quest for safety is far from over.
"Since we came in we have taken each game as it comes, I know it is a big cliche," said assistant Jamie Haynes.
"One thing I have learned and have always been advised is to not get too carried away when things go well and not too low when they are not.
"Fortunately things are going well. The result last Saturday was a disappointing one.
"But performance wise, it was a close game, it could have swung either way, and it was another game where we weren't carved open. It was two set-pieces which is disappointing.
"Moving forward, we have full focus on Chesterfield away and getting three points. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, the job isn't done yet.
"I know there is a gap now appearing, which is brilliant, but it's important that we don't get too carried away. The players know that, three points is the main aim."
This will be Shrewsbury's first visit to Chesterfield in almost nine years. That game ended 1-1, but Salop are winless in their last three league trips to the Spireites.
The clash will see a familiar face line up against Salop. Former captain Chey Dunkley made 100 appearances for Shrewsbury between 2022 and 2024. He started five games in a row before missing Chesterfield’s 3-0 midweek victory over Colchester United. Coach Kieron Dyer said this was "tactical" to give him a "breather".
Salop, meanwhile, welcomed back Sam Clucas against Walsall. He was preferred to Tommy McDermott last time out and played an advanced role rather than sitting deeper.
Bradley Ihionvien continues to train as he recovers from a serious knee injury and could return to contention. It has yet to be confirmed if Josh Ruffels' straight red card against Walsall was appealed by the club, as Cowan had urged.
Town also lost Luca Hoole to injury last weekend. Despite this, Cowan has options through Sam Stubbs and Tom Anderson.
Speaking after that Walsall defeat, the Salop boss said: "We have to be accountable for ourselves. We've still got to do it on our terms.
"We can't leave it down to the referees. We can't leave our destiny in their hands.
"I don't get emotional with the result. We've been poor in the big moments. So, we know we've got to be better.
"We know that we've got to take control of the games and be the master of our own destiny and put our best foot forward."
Predicted teams
Shrewsbury Town (5-2-1-2): Cox; Kabia, Stubbs, Boyle, Anderson, Berkoe; Perry, Sang; McDermott, Lloyd, Morgan.
Subs: Brook, Lee, Benning, Freeman, England, Ogunsuyi.
Chesterfield (4-2-3-1) Hemming; Curtis, McFadzean, Swinkels, Pearce; Braybrooke, Stirk; Markanday, Mandeville, Duffy; Bonis.
Big match prediction: Draw
