The verdict: Shrewsbury Town’s captain delivers another superhero moment

Will Boyle does not wear a cape, but perhaps he should.

When Shrewsbury Town needed a hero, their captain duly obliged, rising to the occasion once again to fire them to their first League Two victory of the season and provide the perfect response to their miserable midweek defeat.

Boyle has developed something of a knack for scoring the goals that matter for Salop. This was another, one that supplied their new campaign with some much-needed lift-off.

Think less Superman, more Captain Shrewsbury - when the moment called for someone to step forward, their skipper grasped the opportunity with both hands.

There was a familiar feel to it, too. Only months ago, Boyle powered home the goal that officially secured Town’s League Two safety, again in a narrow home victory. And go back to February and there was another decisive contribution against Salford, this time away from home, when his side completed a comeback that helped propel them towards safety.

Once again, the captain led from the front. After the gloom of Fleetwood Town, this was precisely what Gavin Cowan and his players required. Boyle, as ever, was at the centre of it.

There are some things certain in life - birth, taxes, death and, it seems, Gavin Cowan beating Salford.

Make that three victories over the Ammies since he took the reins in late January, albeit one came on penalties in the EFL Cup earlier this season. Cowan certainly appears to enjoy coming up against this particular opponent.

The Class of ’92 were also in the building, with Gary Neville and Paul Scholes watching on as Salford sought to arrest a difficult start to the campaign. But they left with glum faces after their side failed to make the most of their opportunities.

For all of Salford’s chances, though, Will Brook did not have a single save to make. That tells its own story. Town defended resolutely, limited the genuine threat and, crucially, looked very different to the side that had been dismantled on the Fylde Coast just days earlier.

Defensive resilience was a huge part of Town’s revival last season, but it had disappeared in the opening four games of this campaign, with Salop conceding 10 goals.

Here, though, came their first clean sheet. It was a return to the foundations that underpinned Cowan’s successful spell last season. If Fleetwood “wasn’t a Gavin Cowan team”, as the boss put it afterwards, then this certainly was.

Cowan made three changes and they paid off. One was the inclusion of transfer-listed defender Tom Anderson, who remains at the club and may well have given plenty of supporters reason to hope he stays.

The centre-back was outstanding. Anderson brought a no-nonsense edge to the back line and grafted throughout.

Town started brightly but failed to make their early pressure count, with Isaac Fletcher firing over before a late first-half flurry saw several efforts blocked.

Salford probably had the better of the chances in the first period, although they rarely threatened Will Brook’s goal. Macaulay Langstaff was the main danger, flashing one effort wide before rounding Brook and seeing his shot cleared off the post by captain Boyle.

The visitors started the second half brightly, while Town struggled to create anything of note. That was until the 75th minute, when Boyle finally broke the deadlock.

Josh Davison’s brilliant ball into the box was not dealt with by Salford and fell kindly to Boyle, who stabbed a low finish into the net to send the Meadow into celebration.

The bouncing surface helped Town keep Salford at bay in the closing stages. Kallum Cesay went close, and should have done better, but otherwise Salop defended resolutely to see out for the victory.

There were joyous scenes at full-time. But amid a sea of blue, there was one orange shirt left on the pitch - a certain Dan Udoh, applauding and embracing Shrewsbury supporters.

The former Town favourite received a warm welcome on his return and was a class act throughout. Salop, though, were thankful he could not replicate last season’s heroics, when he scored twice on his return to the Meadow.

It did not make for particularly pleasant reading to see Town rooted to the bottom of the standings after just a couple of league games. But such is the nature of early-season football, one victory can alter the picture dramatically.

The hope now will be that this can provide the platform to kick on. There are still areas for Town to improve, particularly going forward, but after the misery of midweek, this was a response that mattered.