Shrewsbury Town 2-1 Salford City: Magnificent Salop complete comeback to claim fifth straight win
Red-hot Shrewsbury Town fought back to claim a fifth consecutive victory in League Two at Salford City.
Captain Will Boyle fired home in the 77th minute to complete Salop’s second-half comeback. Tom Sang had levelled six minutes after the restart, after an unfortunate own goal put Salford ahead moments before half-time.
Town claimed back-to-back away league wins for the first time in three years and moved up to 17th in the standings, 12 points clear of the relegation zone. Salop have had five managers since they last won five games in a row.
Head coach Gavin Cowan named an unchanged side following last weekend’s impressive victory at Accrington Stanley, which ended a 168-day wait for an away league win.
Injured duo Ismael Kabia and Anthony Scully remained absent. Meanwhile, Salford were without former Shrewsbury favourite Daniel Udoh due to injury.
Salop fans received a pleasant surprise ahead of the clash as former England national football team goalkeeper Joe Hart stepped in as goalkeeper coach for the night, helping to warm up goalkeeper Matt Cox.
Cox had a quiet opening 10 minutes until Salford skipper Ossama Ashley went narrowly close with the game’s first effort.
Moments later, Jorge Grant felt he should have done better from the middle of the box, forcing Cox into a comfortable save as the hosts pushed for the opener.
Salop responded and built pressure of their own as Matty Young held Iwan Morgan’s long-range shot, while Boyle went close from the 20-year-old’s cross.
Luca Hoole had been central to Salop’s resilience, making several crucial tackles, but was unfortunate to score an own goal in stoppage time to give Salford the lead.
The hosts recycled the ball back into the box, where Ryan Graydon squared it across goal. In an attempt to clear, Cox made the save but the ball ricocheted off Hoole, hit the post and went in - a horrible goal to concede.
Taylor Perry was replaced at the break after picking up a knock, alongside George Lloyd, with Nick Freeman and Trey Ogunsuyi introduced.
Town applied pressure from the off and it paid off just six minutes after the restart as Sang fired the visitors level.
The ball fell to Sang around 20 yards from goal and his powerful strike into the bottom-right corner took a slight deflection on its way past Young, sparking joyous celebrations from Cowan and his coaching staff in the dugout.
Tommy McDermott was denied well by Young at full stretch before Sang blasted over while searching for his second as Salop pressed for the lead.
At the other end, Josh Austerfield came close to restoring Salford’s advantage, heading against the crossbar.
But captain Boyle proved the unlikely hero, bringing the ball down superbly before hammering home from the right side of the box with less than 15 minutes remaining, sending the away end into raptures.
Lineup
Shrewsbury Town: Cox; Berkoe, Hoole, Boyle, Ruffels, Benning; Sang, Perry (Freeman, 46); McDermott (Clucas, 68); Morgan (Anderson, 96), Lloyd (Ogunsuyi, 46).
Unused subs: Brook, Stubbs, Ojinnaka.
Referee: Andrew Humphries
Attendance: 2,540 (574 away)