Analysis: Shrewsbury's bold attacking call reaps a rich reward

It has been a good week for Salop. Steve Cotterill’s men have responded well to their controversial defeat last weekend against Accrington.

The win in the EFL Cup, albeit against League Two opposition Carlisle, would have given them a lift.

But the result at Adams Park on Saturday shows what potential Town have after they beat promotion hopefuls Wycombe 2-1 following a brilliant late comeback.

A goal from Matthew Pennington ruled out Garath McCleary’s opener for Wycombe.

Cotterill was rewarded for attacking substitutions and a change in formation when they took off wing-back Julien Dacosta and brought on Ryan Bowman.

It saw Town change from their 3-4-1-2 system to a 4-3-3, taking off a defender and bringing on a forward.

The boss had made his intentions clear.

And with just one minute of normal time remaining, Tom Bayliss did brilliantly to win a penalty, and Luke Leahy’s powerful strike from 12 yards was enough to secure the points.

It was a battling display in extreme conditions, with temperatures hitting 34 degrees at some points during the afternoon.

And it was made even harder for Town by the fact Wycombe had 69 per cent of possession and so Salop were required to put in a huge shift off the ball.

Town have been hard to break down so far this season. Cotterill’s team are well coached, and that is evident by the two league goals conceded so far.

In the first half at Adams Park, Wycombe moved the ball nicely, which is not something you come to expect from Gareth Ainsworth’s side, as they are known for their direct style of play.

Wycombe put Cotterill’s men under a lot of pressure by having more of the ball and more of the territory but other than letting their hosts shoot from distance, they kept Wycombe relatively quiet. Town defended their box well.

And for all Wycombe’s dominance in the first 45 minutes, it was probably the visitors who had the better of the chances on the counter-attack.

A header from Rekeil Pyke, from a Jordan Shipley cross, and a diving header from Dacosta after George Nurse had crossed the ball deep to the back post.

The Shrews boss mentioned after the game that he was unhappy with how often they allowed ‘a team of shooters’ the space to test goalkeeper Marko Maorsi from outside of the penalty area.

The shot-stopper was up to the task though, making multiple saves, all ones you would expect him to make, but he did well nonetheless.

Cotterill was even more unhappy when McCleary scored from the exact thing they had discussed in the dressing room at half-time – not letting their opponents shoot from distance.

The former Reading man picked up the ball when it was bouncing around inside the Town half after it had been headed up in the air by Flanagan.

The Wycombe number 12 unleashed a shot from 25 yards that flew into the bottom corner.

Given the conditions, given the opponents and given Town had not scored a goal in the league yet this season, it would have been easy for them to crumble.

But they did not.

And they played Wycombe at their own game.

A side who has scored many league goals over the years from set plays conceded from a Nurse long throw.

Tom Flanagan won the flick on, and Pennington was on hand at the back post to head the ball back across goal and into the corner.

The boss made his attacking substitutes and his change of formation, and he was rewarded for rolling the dice.

Bayliss was played in by Pyke, and the former Shrewsbury Town man Joe Jacobson got the wrong side of the substitute and hauled him to the ground to conceded a spot-kick.

Captain Leahy converted the penalty with a powerful strike straight down the middle.

The Salop players celebrated in front of the 282 travelling Shrewsbury fans.

What a difference a week can make in football.

It was ironic that after Shrewsbury were wasteful in front of goal last week against Accrington, where they had 13 shots, and five of those were on target.

At Adams Park they had only six shots on goal, two of those were on target.

And they both ended up in the net.

The fixture was just the start of a very difficult week for Town – a week from which we will learn a lot about the team.

They take on recently relegated Derby County at Montgomery Waters Meadow on Tuesday before hosting Ipswich Town next Saturday.

Wycombe is a tough place to get a result, Ainsworth’s side will no doubt be aiming for promotion. So the win will give the Shrewsbury players a lift.