Crewe 1 Shrewsbury Town 2 - match report

Bonfire Night may not yet have passed and two thirds of a season of undoubted twists and turns still remain.

But, even at this early stage of the campaign, last night's dramatic last gasp victory at Crewe had the feeling of a potentially pivotal moment.

Mark Wright's winner in the third of five minutes of injury time - his second goal of the night and sixth of the season - transformed what would have been a satisfactory and respectable point into a thrilling and vital success on the road.

So often over the years, Town's away form has been their Achilles heel and there would have been one or two concerns at a record of one point from a possible 15 away from the Greenhous Meadow before the trip to Gresty Road.

But this triumph - in a high-tempo, pulsating encounter - means Town will board the coach to Southampton on Saturday and for League assignments thereafter with confidence and momentum restored.

A deserved victory it was too in what was arguably Shrewsbury's most complete performance for a couple of months.

Town carried the greater attacking threat - they could also afford the luxury of a missed penalty and struck the woodwork twice — and also succeeded in restricting a Crewe side who entered the clash as the highest scorers in League Two.

The absence of Ian Sharps and David Raven was overcome by a solid looking defensive display which meant goalkeeper Chris Neal was rarely tested.

And credit to Exodus Geohaghon, the on-loan Peterborough defender proving a largely assured figure as he made his debut just hours after meeting up with his new team-mates for the first time.

Town's midfield, inspired by the excellent Sean McAllister, largely retained possession well and appeared to thrive on the tinkered formation which saw Craig Disley offering support to lone striker Jake Robinson, while Wright and Tope Obadeyi worked the flanks.

And what of Robinson? He will no doubt have been frustrated his 10th goal of the season eluded him but can take satisfaction at an overall performance in which his hold-up play was as sharp as it has been all season.

For all Town's excellence, the dream start of a goal within five minutes was achieved with a major helping hand from Crewe.

There appeared little threat as Robinson chased a through ball from Disley which Crewe goalkeeper Rhys Taylor looked set to race from his line to collect.

But home defender Patrick Ada inexplicably knocked the ball past his advancing keeper to leave a simple tap-in into an empty net for Wright.

Town could have been further ahead at the break, most notably when Robinson hit one post with a 20-yard effort before the rebound fell to Obadeyi whose follow up shot from a tight angle thudded against the other

But if the visitors were comfortable at the interval they had surrendered their lead within four minutes of the restart.

A rare slip from Geohaghon saw him get the ball trapped under his feet and caught in possession, Crewe capitalising to set up Shaun Miller to fire home the leveller from 10 yards.

Shrewsbury wouldn't lie down, although their best hope of victory appeared to have passed when Robinson - who was himself fouled by Ada for the spot kick - saw his 55th minute penalty saved by Taylor diving away to his left.

But Wright had other ideas and, when he collected the ball from a fine Kevin McIntyre pass in injury time, he worked his way into a position to fire an angled 18-yard left foot drive into the bottom corner.

It was a moment greeted by mass celebrations from more than 1,100 away supporters, players and management alike.

Already it has a feeling of a big goal in Town's campaign.

By James Garrison