Crawley 1 Shrewsbury Town 1 - match analysis and pictures

And it was the only thing that was really lacking in another otherwise impressive Town away display.

As they had against Rotherham in their last League One trip, Shrewsbury took the lead in clinical fashion.

But having got their noses in front through Aaron Wildig's thumping volley, they were again unable to close out the game and were eventually pegged back.

It should be remembered that on both occasions, Turner's side had been playing strong opposition.

But in truth, Andy Drury's 64th-minute equaliser had an air of inevitability about it on Saturday, as Town had come under heavy fire as soon as they had taken the lead.

Shrewsbury were guilty of sitting back too much from that point on, inviting more pressure than seemed necessary, albeit remaining dangerous on the counter.

They had carried plenty of attacking threat up until that point, particularly in the first half, and they could well have taken the lead after just six minutes.

Tom Bradshaw must have thought he was about to make it four goals in as many league games when Crawley goalkeeper Paul Jones could only parry Jon Taylor's powerful drive into his path.

But the ball came back at speed and Bradshaw miscued with the goal gaping, prodding well wide.

It was a big let-off for the hosts and Connor Goldson was not far away from opening the scoring himself with a powerful header from Taylor's corner kick.

But Richie Barker's side are made of stern stuff, as promotion contenders Peterborough and Wolves have already discovered this season.

And they regrouped to shade the first-half chances.

Goldson did well to block Billy Clarke's goalbound effort from almost on the goal-line after Nicky Adams and former Shrewsbury loanee Jamie Proctor had combined to play him in on goal.

Adams and Proctor would continue to antagonise Town's back line, which coped well with the absence of injured skipper Tamika Mkandawire, throughout the game.

And the pair combined midway through the half to release Adams into the box only for the midfielder to drill his fierce low effort an inch wide of Chris Weale's far post.

Crawley were winning more of the ball at this point, but it was by no means a one-sided affair, with Town posing a real threat on the break.

And it was from one of those rapid counters that Luke Summerfield had Reds fans' hearts in mouths when he drilled just wide of the far post from all of 25 yards just before the half-hour mark.

Had it gone in, it would have been just reward for a superb move which also involved Bradshaw and Taylor.

Middlesbrough loanee Curtis Main, who was making his first league start for Town, was also proving a handful, holding the ball up adeptly for others and using his pace to launch a number of quick attacking raids.

A moment of inattention almost undid their hard work, though, when Shrewsbury failed to switch on quickly enough to a short corner routine, allowing Adams to curl a dangerous effort just wide from the edge of the box.

Town would have been kicking themselves had it led to the opening goal, and they wouldn't have been any happier had Clarke made the most of Crawley's late first-half penalty either.

Adams was again the thorn in Town's side, having tussled with Darren Jones inside the box.

The former Bristol City man had appeared to grab hold of Adams' shirt as the midfielder tried to turn him, and referee Gavin Ward pointed to the spot after the player had gone down in the box.

It had looked a clumsy challenge, and although Turner was magnanimous about the decision afterwards, it had looked slightly soft.

Fortunately for the visitors, Weale guessed the right way to turn Clarke's penalty round the post.

And Bradshaw almost punished the miss in first-half stoppage time, but Jones managed to block his close-range effort at the near post.

Crawley, though, will no doubt have gone in the more aggrieved to have been level at the break.

And Wildig compounded those feelings less than two minutes into the second half with a majestic volley from Ryan Woods' arching right wing cross.

It was a terrific finish which could well have proved the catalyst for Shrewsbury's first away win of the season.

Instead it proved the necessary blow needed to spark Crawley. Only an outstanding fingertip save from Weale denied Clarke what would have been a spectacular equaliser from the edge of the box.

And the Shrewsbury No.1 also had to get down low on a slippery surface to deny Dannie Bulman while Drury curled well over the bar from a very inviting angle just before the hour mark.

The home crowd were starting to get restless as chances came and went, but Drury made the breakthrough when he nodded home from Proctor's flick following Adam's excellent right-wing cross.

Town recovered quickly from that blow and Main was just a whisker away from restoring their lead with a towering close-range header which just sailed over the bar four minutes later.

Parry provided the cross on that occasion and he almost handed Taylor a far post tap-in soon afterwards, only for James Hurst to deny him at the last minute.

Town remained a threat on the counter, with Main drilling just wide, but Crawley finished the game in the ascendancy with Adams blazing over from an inviting position and substitute Emile Sinclair just failing to connect with a glorious Adams cross in stoppage time.

At the end Town could reflect on another hard-earned point on the road against quality opposition, in what has been a decent start to the season so far.

But had they managed to convert their away draws into wins, it would have been an excellent one, and that must remain the big target for Town on the road this season.

By Matt Viney

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