Gareth Ainsworth hails sensational Shrewsbury Town

It has been a hard time following Shrews in 2024, and the 3-2 win over Chris Davies' high-flying Blues side was just the fourth time Town have won at the Croud Meadow this year. 

It was a wet and windy day as Storm Bert continued to cause havoc as it hit the UK's shores, but Town fans left smiling as they got their third win of the season against arguably the best side in the division. 

Ainsworth says the performance of his team in the 101 minutes they played was superb as heaped the praise onto them. 

"We worked on it in the week, and it is really important for me to see that the lads can take on information," the 51-year-old said.  "They can buy into what I want to do, and they can commit like you would not believe. There were some performances out there. 

"I will not pick them out, but listen to a man, the commitment they showed today was sensational, it really was. 

"The result is almost a by-product of what we did out there. The boys deserved it. A couple of the Birmingham players, who I know, when they came off said your boys deserved that because they gave us one hell of a game. 

"They committed, they went for every tackle, they went for every header, they kept running, they never stopped, so it is not surprising they are coming off with tightness and going down injured.

"They were knackered, and that is what I want. I said to everyone they will come off that pitch with nothing left, and I am proud to say that I was true to my word today. The boys were sensational."

Aaron Pierre scored his first goal of the season to give Shrewsbury the lead just after the half-hour mark. 

John Marquis then got on the score sheet not long after when he smuggled Leo Castledine's scuffed shot over the line.

Blues responded, and when Tomoki Iwata halved the deficit a minute before the interval, and it looked like a long second period in prospect. 

But Tom Bloxham scored a Town third, and despite Jay Stansfield making it 3-2 from the penalty spot, Shrews survived to end their six-game winless run. 

Ainsworth says he always knew his players were very capable of producing that kind of performance. 

He continued: "I look at the squad, and I see some player's names, and I am thinking, you are a good player, a very good player. Let's get the best out of you. 

"Let's make the game your game, and the goals were brilliant. We worked on that, and we are not always going to do that because it was Birmingham. I said in the week we slightly changed the formation for them.

"Massive respect for them, they are a brilliant side. They play the ball so well around the back, but they were not going to get anything from Shrewsbury." 

Salop now have a break until they are next in League One action. They welcome Blackpool to the Croud Meadow in 10 days time.