Dave Edwards: Shrewsbury showing habits of a promotion-battling side

Vale on Saturday was one match where people perhaps thought Steve Cotterill’s men could come unstuck. The visitors had sold out their away end, they would be completely up for it in a bit of a local clash.

For Town to come through that with flying colours is a mark on how far they have come in recent years.

They went a goal down and did not panic, instead they went and were rampant down the other end to go 3-1 up at the break.

There were a few moments in the second half, after Vale had pulled a goal back, that were a bit hairy, but Town had their moments too.

A belief Town are going to see games out and win is now there – and it hasn’t always been there in recent years. That sort of confidence and belief hasn’t been there since Paul Hurst almost won promotion to the Championship. I keep writing about that time but they are emulating traits that helped make that Town team so successful.

It was another terrific win with some big performances from players while there were two key defenders missing in Matty Pennington and Tom Flanagan, through suspension.

The manager can change it up and trust players. He had Taylor Moore and Luke Leahy in there, it’s another example of bodies available of late to provide more options. Players have come in of late and not wounded the side too much.

I wanted to extend my congratulations to Luke Leahy for being named League One player of the month – completely on merit.

It’s not often you see a player who is not a striker pick up that award. Since he has been made captain of the club Leahy has gone from strength to strength. He’s been a terrific signing and nine goals from midfield is excellent.

He is a player Town will be hoping to keep hold of. The fact he slotted back into defence on Saturday showed his versatility and consistency.

There are a lot of players performing well for Shrewsbury at the moment. Chey Dunkley is so good in both boxes, he wins almost everything that comes his way.

I was very excited when Cotterill brought the defender in last summer and it is clear he is somebody that, with his Wolverhampton connections anyway, has made the area and club his home. He is another leader down the spine of the side.

And I am so excited by Killian Phillips! He has brought the legs into midfield, racing into tackles. But he is excellent on the ball too, showing why he’s with a Premier League club in Crystal Palace.

I was chuffed to see Ryan Bowman bag a deserved start up front and the only thing missing from his display was a goal.

He gave everything else for the cause and rightly won plaudits from the manager. The way he held the ball up was exceptional.

It shows the team spirit – somebody who wasn’t featuring all too much comes in and shows what he can do with these type of performances. It’s the same with Tom Bayliss having a moment out of the firing line, it’s very good management.

It’s a big old week on the bus at Exeter tonight and Accrington on Saturday, two games historically Town might have taken a draw. Momentum is crucial, neither side will look forward to facing Shrewsbury – if they can manage six points from six to make it eight on the bounce then they will be right in that mix for the top six.