Plymouth 2 Shrewsbury 1 - Report
Shrewsbury Town were on the receiving end of a late second-half comeback by league leaders Plymouth Argyle as they lost 2-1 at Home Park.
Jordan Shipley gave Salop the lead on the half-hour mark after good work from Bayliss and Saydee to turn the ball over.
And Town should have led by more than one goal at the break after Pennington and Street hit the bar.
It was a stubborn showing that saw Town look dangerous when they got it forward.
The visitors were always going to respond after the interval, but the initial 25 minutes followed a similar pattern.
But as the game entered the final stages they drew level through Niall Ennis when his shot went through Marko Marosi.
And with seven minutes of normal time remaining, Morgan Whittaker got on the end of a cross at the back post to complete the turnaround.
Steve Cotterill made two changes to the side that lost 1-0 at the Meadow against Charlton at the weekend.
Matthew Pennington, who has just returned from injury, came back into the side to replace Taylor Moore - the defender took his place in the back three alongside Tom Flanagan and Chey Dunkley.
Rekeil Pyke was also left out of the starting XI, and Rob Street replaced him. The Crystal Palace loanee played alongside Christian Saydee.
The wingbacks stayed the same, with Elliott Bennett playing on the right and Jordan Shipley playing on the left.
Carl Winchester and Luke Leahy kept their places in a midfield two, with Tom Bayliss playing slightly more advanced of the pair.
It had all the hallmarks of a very tough game for Shrewsbury, with their opposition winning 11 out of their 15 league games this season.
It was a wet and miserable evening on the south coast, with Home Park being hit by heavy rain in the build-up to the game.
And despite the 177 Salop fans who had made the journey, they were vastly outnumbered by a sold-out home end.
Town started brightly, and they had two opportunities from corners to take the lead.
Firstly, Flanagan won a header, but his effort was deflected wide, and from the resulting corner Pennington attacked the ball.
He made great contact, getting to it before his man, but his header crashed off the underside of the crossbar and stayed out.
The home side looked comfortable in possession, but when Town won it back, they were dangerous on the break.
Bayliss won the ball back on one occasion and travelled forward with the ball, it came to Shipley, and his cross caused chaos initially being punched away by Cooper.
But when Bennett clipped it back in, Street rose above everyone, and his header hit the bar. The second time Salop had been denied by the woodwork.
And on the half-hour mark, Salop took the lead which was no more than their first-half performance deserved.
Bayliss latched onto a loose throw from the hosts after he pressed them high up the pitch, he played it to Saydee giving Town a complete overload on the left side, Shipley game charging up on the outside in acres of space, and when Saydee passed it to him, he smashed it past Cooper to give Town the lead.
Town were happy to defend in numbers, happy to drop off their hosts, and they remained disciplined, but when they got it right in the final third, they were threatening.
And on the stroke of half-time, they almost doubled their lead when Bayliss went through, but his shot from a narrow angle was straight Cooper.
Former Salop man Sam Cosgrove came on for the visitors at the interval.
The hosts began to pile on the pressure after the break, Morgan Whittaker got away down left, and his cross ended up at Cosgrove's feet but Flanagan was able to block the forward's effort behind.
The game followed a similar pattern to the first half with Argyle having plenty of the ball.
But with 20 minutes remaining, the home side found an equaliser.
Niall Ennis got away down the right after the ball broke to him. He shot, and it squeezed under Marosi and into the net.
And Shrewsbury's hearts were broken when Whittaker converted a brilliant cross at the back post from Bali Mumba.
Despite Town throwing everything at in the final stages, they were unable to find an equaliser.
Shrews: Marosi, Flanagan, Dunkley, Pennington, Bennett, Shipley (O'Brien 87mins), Winchester, Leahy, Bayliss, Saydee (Pyke 60mins), Street (Bowman 77mins).
Subs: Burgoyne, Bowman, Bloxham, Pyke, Moore, Dacosta, O'Brien.
Plymouth: Cooper, Houghton, Wilson, Butcher (Galloway 77mins) , Hardie (Cosgrove 45mins), Grant (Edwards 45mins), Mumba, Azaz (Ennis 45mins), Whittaker, Randell, Lonwijk.
Subs: Burton, Edwards, Ennis, Cosgrove, Galloway, Craske, Davies.
