Dean Saunders inspired Andy Mangan goal
Shrewsbury Town striker Andy Mangan has revealed that Dean Saunders was the inspiration behind his fortunate opening goal against Accrington Stanley.
Mangan, who played for the ex-Wolves boss at Wrexham in 2010-11, set Town on the way to a 4-0 home win just seven minutes in after charging down a routine clearance by Stanley goalkeeper Luke Simpson.
There looked to be nothing on for the former Forest Green Rovers striker until Simpson accidentally drilled the ball straight at him, with the ricochet finding the back of the unguarded net.
Asked about his reason for chasing the ball down, Mangan said: "Dean Saunders always said 'if you chase lost causes, sometimes you get a bit of luck,' and I got a big bit of luck on Tuesday.
"If he had seen that goal I am sure he would have been really happy. I was over the moon and it settled us down.
"Obviously, when you get the early goal they have to come out against you and we exploited the space."
Mangan was a constant thorn in Accrington's side on Tuesday, winning a penalty which strike partner Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro dispatched before half time, and then netting his second in the second half.
Connor Goldson also scored a volley in first-half stoppage time.
Mangan said: "They came with a game plan but once we got the first goal, that goes out of the window.
"Then we got the second goal, the goalkeeper gets sent off, and then we had a bit more space to exploit and Connor scored from the corner in the first half."
Mangan's brace, his third goal in two games, fired him to the top of Town's scoring charts.
Mangan said: "I am looking at scoring a lot of goals for this club. I will keep working hard and hopefully it will happen."
