Will Boyle gets Shrewsbury up and running with victory over Salford

Will Boyle scored the only goal as Shrewsbury picked up their first points of the season with a battling 1-0 victory over fellow Sky Bet League Two strugglers Salford.

The away side started brightly and went close to opening the scoring after 20 minutes when a swift counter-attack ended with Macaulay Langstaff firing narrowly wide of the left-hand post.

Summer signing Langstaff nearly opened his Salford account in the third minute of first-half stoppage time when he latched onto a long ball forward from Will Norris and rounded goalkeeper Will Brook, but his effort from a tight angle was cleared off the line.

The breathless end to an otherwise low-key half continued a minute later when Josh Davison’s header from a short corner was blocked before Boyle’s follow-up was cleared away.

In a second half short of clear chances, Salford substitute Kallum Cesay missed a golden opportunity after 72 minutes when he blazed a shot over the bar from close range.

Salford were punished for their profligacy two minutes later when Boyle reacted quickest in the box to prod home the winning goal from a teasing Davison cross.

Peter Cklamovski’s side rallied in search of a late equaliser but could not find a way through as they suffered a third consecutive League Two loss.