Shrewsbury 0 Bromley 0 - Report
Shrewsbury Town began life in League Two with a goalless draw against Bromley at the Croud Meadow.
In a disjointed game, which was heavily impacted by a 17-minute delay in the first half after an injury to an official, neither side did enough to get all three points.
Report
The Croud Meadow was bathed in sunshine for the opening day of the League Two season.
It was the first time Town had played in the fourth tier of English football for more than 10 years, and Michael Appleton handed Will Boyle, Sam Stubbs, Tom Anderson, Sam Clucas and Anthony Scully debuts in front of the home supporters.
Loanee Elyh Harrison picked up a foot injury in Town’s final pre-season game of the summer against Burnley, meaning Toby Savin was given the nod in between the posts.
First half
It was a very energetic start to the match. Kyle Cameron went close for the visitors from distance, and Anthony Scully’s shot was saved by Grant Smith.
Bromley had plenty of efforts on goal, but the best chance of the opening half hour fell to Corey Whitely. Savin and Stubbs had made a mess of clearing a near-post cross, and his strike went narrowly over the bar.
In quite bizarre circumstances, the game was paused for 17 minutes after an injury to the linesman. The stadium announcer requested a referee to come forward from the crowd, and eventually, after both sets of players had left the field, the game resumed.
Marcus Dinanga headed just wide for Bromley as the game went into a crazy amount of injury time at the end of the first half.
Town had a bright spell in added time, but they would have been slightly disappointed with how little they managed to work Bromley's keeper in a disjointed first period.
Second half
The opening 22 minutes of the second period saw Appleton’s side continue to try to play some football. But despite some bright moments and getting in some excellent positions, they were unable to force an opening.
Taylor Perry was the Town boss's first change of the day, he came on for Alex Gilliead with just over 20 minutes remaining, and George Lloyd came into the action not long after.
All afternoon it felt like a match which was likely to just have one goal in it, and both sides searched for something late on which would most likely be a winner.
Deji Elerewe headed over in stoppage time at the end of the game, but it ended all square in Shropshire.
TEAMS:
Shrewsbury: Savin, Stubbs, Anderson, Boyle, Hoole, Nurse, Gilliead (Perry 67), Biggins (Sang 83), Clucas, Scully (Lloyd 74), Marquis.
Subs: Benning, Dinanga, Nsiala, Stewart.
Bromley: Smith, Elerwe, Charles, Cameron, Thompson (Krauhaus 64), Cheek, Dinanga (Kabamba 72), Pinnock, Webster, Whitely (Arthurs 83), Ifill (Odutayo 72).
Subs: Long, Sowunmi, Hondermarck.
