Shrewsbury Town 0-4 Crewe Alexandra: Dreadful Salop suffer heaviest home loss of season and third consecutive defeat
A woeful Shrewsbury Town fell to a third consecutive defeat after a disastrous start saw them concede twice inside the opening eight minutes.
A nightmare own goal in the fifth minute handed Crewe Alexandra the lead before Josh March fired home for the visitors’ second moments later.
Crewe added two further goals within seven minutes of the second-half, with Salop fans heading for the exits in their masses by the time the fourth went in.
The 4-0 loss is their heaviest home defeat of the season and equals their heaviest league defeat of the season, matching four-goal losses against Tranmere Rovers and MK Dons. Despite the result, Salop remain 11 points clear of the League Two relegation zone.
During the game, Shrewsbury paid tribute to supporter Zack Beard, who sadly passed away aged 14 following a battle with cancer. Both sets of supporters, along with players, staff and officials, united for a minute’s applause in the 14th minute.
Despite hopes he would recover from a knock sustained at Bristol Rovers in midweek, Salop forward Iwan Morgan was absent.
Cowan made four changes, with Sam Clucas returning to the starting line-up alongside Mal Benning, Tommy McDermott and Trey Ogunsuyi, while Bradley Ihionvien also returned from the bench after recovering from a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Salop boss Cowan was absent from the sidelines, understood to be serving a one-match suspension.
He watched on from the stands as his side made a disastrous start, falling two goals behind inside eight minutes.
The opening goal, in the fifth minute, was calamitous. Josh March was afforded time and space to shoot from the left side of the box, beating goalkeeper Matt Cox. Although Mal Benning cleared the ball off the line, it rebounded off Cox and into the net.
The move originated from former Salop loanee Tommi O’Reilly, who forced the initial error.
Things went from bad to worse just two minutes later as March latched onto Jack Lankester’s through ball and fired powerfully past Cox to double the Railwaymen’s advantage.
The visitors showed no signs of slowing, pressing for a third and forcing further mistakes at the back, with Cox saving efforts from March and Emre Tezgel.
Trey Ogunsuyi came closest for the hosts before the break, heading onto the roof of the net.
Crewe continued to press after the interval, looking to exploit further weaknesses in the Town defence. March remained a constant threat and got his reward in the 64th minute with his second goal of the afternoon.
Emre Tezgel found March, who fired at goal. Cox got a hand to the effort but was unable to prevent it from finding the net.
Stoke City loanee Tezgel then added a fourth, powering home from Lewis Billington’s delivery, prompting Town fans to head for the exits.
Boos rang around the Meadow at full-time as Salop went scoreless in three matches.
Lineup
Shrewsbury Town: Cox, Anderson, Boyle, Benning (Ihionvien, 61), Kabia, Sang, Clucas, Berkoe, McDermott (Gray, 74), Ogunsuyi (Scully, 70), Lloyd
Unused subs: Brook, Stubbs, Lee, Freeman, Scully.
Referee: Jamie O’Connor
Attendance: 7,041 (1,648 away)
