In-form Tom Bayliss starting to look the real deal

The 23-year-old scored again at the weekend, his third goal in seven games, and it finished off a brilliant Salop move which also included good work by Christian Saydee, Elliott Bennett and Rekeil Pyke.

On this occasion, it was the only goal of the game, and it was a wonderful finish too.

An effort with his weaker foot, with no back lift, and it sailed into the top corner of Fleetwood’s net.

The former Coventry City man scored an important goal the previous weekend against MK Dons with a composed finish, and he is becoming a match-winner for Steve Cotterill’s Shrews.

He had a slow start to life at Town, by his own admission and by his managers. But as the weeks have gone by, he has continued to gel and bond with his new team-mates having a bigger and bigger effect on matches.

Thirteen games into the League One season he also has three assists, and one thing is for sure, when he is in the team, Salop have a goal in them.

It was a fantastic move to get the ball to him on the half-hour mark.

Saydee must have shrugged off four or five challenges before spreading the play out wide to Bennett. His ball was with the outside of his right foot, went forward into the path of the skipper Luke Leahy, who helped it on to Pyke. He was under pressure from a Fleetwood defender, but he calmly laid the ball off for Bayliss, who applied the finishing touches in style.

And the attacking midfielder said this is something he has been practicing.

He said: “I have been working a lot on that in training, and I want to get my numbers up this season.

“I had a similar chance at Cheltenham away a couple of weeks ago where the ball has kind of come back to me, and their full-back cut it out with a first-time shot.

“So I thought I should let it come across my body, but it got caught under my feet, so I thought I would just swing with my left foot, and it luckily nestled in the top corner nicely.”

Town were up against it in the second half, in incredibly difficult conditions at Highbury Stadium on the Lancashire coast.

The wind was howling, and they found it difficult to get out of their own half, but they did limit their opponents to very few clear-cut chances.

They hit the bar twice, but that was more of a fluke than anything. Danny Andrew was the player on both occasions.

The first attempt was from a deflected shot almost 35-yards away from goal, it wrong-footed Marko Marosi cannoning into the woodwork.

And the other directly from a corner.

Their only clear-cut chance was when Carlos Mendes Gomes went through in the second half, he went around Marosi, but Taylor Moore, who has looked assured since moving to centre-back, cleared off the line.

In truth, Town managed the final 15 minutes really well. The play was broken up with fouls and yellow cards. Town’s physio even got sent off in stoppage time, but it stopped the flow and the momentum in the game helping Shrewsbury to get over the line.

Steve Cotterill said after the game they should have led by more at half-time, and the boss was right.

Pyke went through on goal, and he should have done better. Leahy missed a good chance when the ball broke to him in the penalty area.

The first 30 minutes of the game was relatively quiet, Fleetwood were happy to pass it backwards and sidewards without ever really looking threatening, but Bayliss sparked Town into life with his goal.

And they put all sorts of pressure on the hosts up to the interval.

In terms of team selection, Town were boosted ahead of kick-off when Marosi was back in goal. The keeper hurt his finger in the win over Burton Albion a few weeks back, and Harry Burgoyne had deputised since.

With the absence of Matthew Pennington, Cotterill would have been overjoyed to have Northern Ireland international Tom Flanagan back available.

He slotted into his normal position on the left side of a back three.

The only slight concern for Shrewsbury is there was no Pennington or Julien Dacosta in the squad.

Pennington did travel, and it is understood that his injury is not as bad as first feared when he went off at MK Dons, but Town’s squad is thin, and they would not have wanted to take any risks.

Aiden O’Brien is still building himself up to match fitness, and the former Sunderland man could be in line for his first start in a Salop shirt when they take on Stockport on Tuesday. Having him firing would be another boost.