Matt Richards ready to end the hurt

Having suffered the disappointment of two play-off semi-final defeats during his days at Ipswich, Shrewsbury Town midfielder Matt Richards could be forgiven for being disheartened after his side's 1-1 draw at Accrington Stanley.

But the 27-year old remains convinced he will finally clinch his first career promotion on Saturday, when Town welcome Dagenham & Redbridge to Greenhous Meadow.

Richards was part of Joe Royle's Tractor Boys teams that reached the semi-final stage of The Championship play-offs in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

• See pictures from Town's draw at Accrington

His long wait for that first promotion could have ended on Saturday had Shrewsbury beaten Accrington, but despite Town's 1-1 draw at The Crown Ground, Richards believes he will be celebrating this weekend.

"Promotion would be a massive achievement," he said." It's something we have been looking for all season.

"I've been close twice in my career. The disappointment is not nice so it means a lot to me and everyone at the club. We are at the final hurdle now and I'm sure we can do it.

"We want to continue that home run unbeaten over the whole season and we could do that next week as well as get promoted so I think everyone's looking forward to next weekend."

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