So close for heroic Shrewsbury Town - with fans photo gallery inside the London Stadium
Heroic Shrewsbury Town were the toast of the capital last night – despite missing out narrowly to Premier League West Ham in an FA Cup third round replay.
There were 3,000 Salop supporters amongst almost 40,000 fans at the London Stadium for the clash and they saw their team take the hosts all the way to extra time.
But it was late heartbreak for Salop, with Reece Burke popping up in the 112th minute to leave Town fans proud but wondering what might have been.
For many of them it was a chance to see their team show they can hold their own against much bigger clubs, and for other supporters it was a chance to celebrate an appearance at a world famous venue, the home of the 2012 Olympics.
And while Salop fans said they were hoping for a win, many were just happy with the Shrewsbury players keeping up the strong performance they have shown all season.
Tom Edwards, 32, from Oswestry, said: “It was an incredible performance from a superb Town team. We are so proud of them.”
It was a good night for Nathan Cavin, a 34-year-old IT trainer from near Pontesbury.
He recently adopted Shrewsbury as his team thanks to the influence of his father-in-law Brian Amey, and he was keen to see them perform against such a high profile opponent.
“They all tell me it’s never been this good before,” he said.
“They tell me I don’t know I’m born because it’s been this good this season.
“I go to the match every week and this was the first big away game this season – I just couldn’t miss it.”
Mr Cavin said the game had been a chance to redress the balance after a great performance in Shrewsbury’s previous clash with West Ham.
“They performed so well at the first match and everybody came away quite disappointed that we hadn’t won,” he said.
“The experience has been great whatever though. We all came down on the coaches. There were 3,000 fans and a great atmosphere.”
It’s no wonder Brian has had such a massive impact on his son-in-laws football habits. The 71-year-old has spent his entire life supporting Shrewsbury.
“I’ve always been a supporter and this is Shrewsbury in the FA Cup – that’s why we made the effort to travel down,” he said.
“The last time we were down here was against Arsenal in the Carling Cup. That was a great visit to the city.”
Brian said that it wasn’t about winning and losing, but that he wanted to see his favourite team perform well.
“The important thing was that we gave a good display,” he said. “They gave a good display and we were happy with that.”
Fellow father and son supporters Roger and Sam Ridgway were hoping to see a win.
They’d said they had to travel to support their team, especially for such a big game.
It’s not the first time the duo have travelled to London to see the team play.
“We’ve done Wembley in the past,” Roger, a lorry driver, said. “We’ve supported them all our lives.
“We are here because of the team’s manager, Paul Hurst. He’s got the group of players together, he’s got them all gelling and just playing good football.”
Roger’s son Sam, who works for the company that looks after Shrewsbury Town’s pitch at Montgomery Waters Meadow, said he would have been ecstatic if they had won, but that West Ham knew more about Shrewsbury now thanks to their first match.
“The loss is no disgrace. Not everybody gets to see their team play in a place like this,” he said.
As well as older supporters, there were plenty of younger fans happy to be given the chance to shout for their favourite team at the London Stadium.
With colourful wigs, pristine kits and team scarves, many of the, had definitely come dressed for the occasion.
For most of them, not yet teenagers, it will have been the first major football match outside their home town.
And they approached it with suitable vigour – screaming their support before they’d even reached their seats.
Dads Chris Wynne, 52, and Graham Webster, 50, travelled together with their young boys to watch the match.
“We gave them a good game at home, we wanted to give them a good game away,” Chris said. “I support my team home and away. This is a big one though, your first match at a fantastic new stadium.”
Graham added: “It could have been a big giant killer. Even a loss was fantastic in the end. It’s good for the town, for the team, and hopefully some cash for the club as well.”
Thomas Downes is 17 and travelled down with friends for the match.
He said it was fantastic to see so much support for the club.
“It’s great to see 3,000 people turned out for the match,” he said.
“It was all organised on such short notice too. People need to get time off work and that sort of thing. It’s fantastic.”
