Analysis: Shrewsbury aim to now maintain momentum

Three wins on the bounce at Montgomery Waters Meadow has propelled Salop into ninth place in the League One table.

But it had been another week of disruption for Town boss Steve Cotterill.

Tom Flanagan was suspended for his five yellow cards, which is part of the game, but Julien Dacosta had suffered a groin problem that meant he was absent from the matchday squad.

Marko Marosi had not recovered from his finger injury to take his place between the sticks.

And for the vast majority of the week, it looked as if skipper Luke Leahy was going to be unavailable with an elbow problem.

Town’s resilience and squad depth were being tested.

The resolve was further probed when Matthew Pennington – who has started every league game – went off with a groin problem in the first half.

Seemingly, the only thing that had gone right for Town this week was their performance on the pitch.

And they were good value for the points on this occasion after starting the game really brightly.

It was the former Coventry boys who got the goals – Tom Bayliss in the 24th minute and Jordan Shipley on the stroke of half-time.

But in truth, Shrews could have had a few more in the first half.

Cotterill was happy with the points, but he would also have been glad for the response his players showed after a disappointing result the week previously.

Salop switched between passing it around, which they did well in stages, and going long to the two forwards Christian Saydee and Rekeil Pyke.

The target normally was Saydee, with Pyke using his pace to run off him.

Elliott Bennett was the creator of the first goal. A corner found its way to Bennett at the edge of the penalty, who could have taken a shot.

But he showed his experience, holding on to the ball for a brief moment before placing an inch-perfect pass to Bayliss – who slotted home past Jamie Cumming.

The second came after Bennett and Pyke combined to get the ball across the goal. Saydee and Street were trying to force it home, and the ball fell to Shipley at the back post. His shot was deflected, wrong-footed Cumming and went into the net.

It was a deserved lead, while Saydee was a nuisance all afternoon for the Dons defenders.

A couple of times he used his strength to hold them off, either to create a chance for himself, to win a free-kick or to play in Pyke.

He looks to be a useful addition to the forward line – especially with Dan Udoh being out for so long.

Street was the man who came on for Pennington at 1-0 – he also did well something his manager is hoping to see more of.

After losing Pennington it was always going to make them weaker from set pieces.

Luke Leahy went to play at left centre-back, so apart from Dunkley, Town did not have anyone you would expect to win headers.

Luckily for Salop, their job was made easier after a challenge by Dawson Devoy.

He was awarded a straight red card for a two-footed lunge on Shipley, and even though he protested, the replays suggested it was not a pretty tackle, something you cannot do in modern football.

The visitors had already pulled one back by this stage, and it was hardly a surprise when it came from a dead ball situation, Cotterill said after the game he was glad they only got one from a corner because set plays were an area of concern to him.

The 10 men of MK Dons actually put up a better fight. They still were not great, but they caused Town a few problems, especially in the closing stages.

Salop’s performance was not as good as it was in the first half, it did not have to be as they already had the lead and defending it was the most important thing.

Street did have a chance to put the game to bed, he brilliantly took down Shipley’s cross-field ball on his chest, but he could not apply the finishing touches, and his effort went over.

Leahy was excellent, he braved the pain barrier to play, and as usual he was at the heart of everything Town did.

Harry Burgoyne will be pleased to be on the winning side, but a good sign for Shrewsbury that they did well was the shot-stopper was very seldom called into action.

Winning becomes a habit, and it is definitely one Steve Cotterill will want to maintain in the coming weeks after a difficult start to the season at the Meadow the home form has been great.