Captain Will Boyle fires Shrewsbury Town to first League Two win
Shrewsbury Town secured a 1-0 win over Salford City.
Captain Will Boyle fired Shrewsbury Town to their first League Two win of the season.
Boyle stabbed home from close range from a rare second-half opening to down Salford City and lift Town off the bottom of the table.
It was the perfect response to Shrewsbury’s heavy defeat at Fleetwood Town days earlier and marked a third win over the Ammies for boss Gavin Cowan.
Cowan shook things up after that midweek EFL Cup drubbing, and the first half was a marked improvement on that miserable evening.
Rather than being opened up and three goals down at the break, Town went into half-time level after a tight opening 45 minutes.
There were chances for the visitors, particularly for Macaulay Langstaff, who fired wide midway through the half after some neat movement and footwork before seeing another effort cleared off the line by Boyle late on.
Otherwise, Salop were solid and restricted Salford to a minimum of clear-cut opportunities. It had been a strong start from Shrewsbury, with Isaac Fletcher and Luca Hoole both going close, before a late flurry saw several efforts blocked.
Salford threatened early after the restart, with Joe Powell and new arrival Taylor Allen both blazing over.
Shrewsbury favourite Dan Udoh was unable to repeat his return to the Meadow of last season, when he netted twice for Salford. The striker was replaced on the hour after struggling to threaten the Town goal.
Shrewsbury had made enquiries about bringing the popular former striker back this summer, but Cowan confirmed a deal was out of the club’s reach.
It had been all Salford until the 75th minute, when Town grabbed their first chance of the half with both hands.
Skipper Boyle stepped up to deliver the goods, stabbing Town ahead after Salford failed to deal with Josh Davison’s ball into the box. The loose ball fell to Boyle, who poked a low finish into the net.
Helped by a bouncing Meadow, Town kept Salford at bay in the closing stages to secure a first league win of the campaign.
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