Unlucky for Shrewsbury as Sunderland grab a dramatic win
Sport can be incredibly cruel, and Shrewsbury Town’s late defeat to Sunderland was perhaps a perfect example of that.
On the back of a difficult Christmas period for Steve Cotterill’s men, they reacted well against the Black Cats in the FA Cup third-round tie.
For the vast majority of the fixture, they kept their opponents at arm’s length – with shots from outside the box either going wide or dealt with by Marko Marosi, who was in good form between the posts.
The visitors controlled possession and controlled the game, but that was always something to be expected with Shrewsbury playing against Championship opposition.
And when Matthew Pennington gave them the lead from a Tom Bayliss corner it looked as if Salop would be heading through.
But Ross Stewart and Luke O’Nien hit back for the visitors in the most heartbreaking of ways in the 92nd and 94th minutes to turn the tie on its head.
It left a Shrewsbury side, who had worked so hard to stay in the contest, on their knees, and it felt like another example of luck not being on their side.
The result in that fashion was undoubtedly, disappointing, but it was the kind of performance the Salop faithful needed to see after a difficult period in the league.
There were more positives. Aiden O’Brien got his first 45 minutes in a Shrewsbury shirt from the start, aside from his one game in the EFL Trophy when Town chose to play their youngsters.
The former Sunderland man looked bang up for the game against his old club, operating on the left of a 3-4-3 and just by watching him for that first half you could see the potential O’Brien has for Shrews with him being comfortable on the ball.
The game saw a first start for Elliott Bennett, who has been absent since early November.
And Julien Dacosta – rarely seen since the opening few months of the season – came on in the 84th minute to mark his return from injury.
Shrewsbury have been hampered by injuries this season, but slowly and surely it does feel as though they are starting to get their players back.
Cotterill had options from the bench, and when Ryan Bowman returns from suspension next weekend against Burton Albion, and Carl Winchester is eligible, the boss won’t be too far away from having a full complement to choose from.
Of course, the two long-term absentees in George Nurse and Dan Udoh will be out still, but the others being available is a luxury Cotterill has not had.
Town started the clash with real energy, they pushed high up the pitch and Luke Leahy almost gave them the lead.
He won the ball back and tried to lob Alex Bass, but his effort looped on to the bar and landed safely for the keeper to claim.
Salop were, without doubt, the brighter of the sides in the opening exchanges, Jordan Shipley saw a shot go wide, Killian Phillips tested Bass from range and Town had appeals for a penalty waved away by Matthew Donohue.
Tony Mowbray’s side, who are eighth in the Championship, four points off third-placed Blackburn did settle.
They had two penalty shouts of their own waved away, one on Patrick Roberts where the winger was booked for diving. And on reflection, it looked as if Town could well have gotten away with one, even if Roberts did throw himself to the ground in dramatic fashion.
The first half saw the visitors dominate possession but not create anything clear-cut.
The second period started in a similar fashion, Marosi was forced in a couple of good saves from Roberts as he and Amad caused Town quite a few problems down their left side. The Manchester United loanee bent an effort inches wide and looked every bit a quality player all afternoon.
After the first half-an-hour Town’s threat came from set-pieces, and they took the lead from one with 10 minutes to go. Another Pennington goal, he is turning into quite the goal-scoring defender, and he regained his position as the joint top goal scorer for the club this season with five.
And it looked as if Town would hold on when the fourth official indicated there would only be four minutes added on, something the Sunderland staff were incensed about.
The visitors had lots of free-kicks and corners in the second half and eventually in the 92nd minute, for possibly the first time in the match, Town did not get their heads to the ball first. This time it was Ross Stewart, and the towering centre forward nodded home.
It was a killer blow, but on the balance of play Sunderland did not deserve to lose and, in the end, they won it as Luke O’Nien’s shot found the far corner.
