Dave Edwards: Incredible Shrewsbury run over, but it could have been different
Shrewsbury’s incredible streak was always going to come to an end eventually.
The winning run came to an end last Tuesday at Exeter and the unbeaten run ended on Saturday at Accrington, and it quite easily could have been so different.
The game at Exeter, although they had more of the ball, Shrewsbury were the team that looked most likely to win that game.
The Tom Bayliss chance in particular was big and he’ll be quite disappointed that he didn’t put that away. It could have been three points rather than one.
The game at Accrington was a bit of a nothing game and Town will be disappointed with how they played in the first half. They didn’t get up to speed quick enough and Accrington managed to get their goal.
Other than that, it was all Town. They got into some good areas and maybe lacked a little bit of a clinical edge in that final third, going into the last 45 minutes.
But they definitely got into good enough areas to at least get a point out of the game.
I’m sure the manager will be disappointed that it was only one point from those two games. Some decisions did go against them as well.
I’ve been very complimentary of the manager having more players available of late, which has helped him rotate, but they’ve now been hampered by a few injuries, especially in defence.
At Exeter, with Pennington missing and Flanagan suspended they had to to shuffle the pack. Moore getting injured too – they haven’t had a settled side in these games, which I think has also played into it.
The travelling also has a huge impact. I’m sure all of the lads will feel like they recovered properly, but it’s never quite the same when you have a long journey and a smaller squad.
You don’t get any quality sleep after Tuesday’s game and then have to get back on the bus on Friday to travel up to Accrington, which isn’t the easiest place to get to.
It all takes its toll. The intensity it takes out of a player’s legs is real and you lose a bit of an edge. It’s very difficult, especially when Accrington are fighting for their lives.
The league is so close and it quite easily could have been four points.
But saying all that, you have to take a lot of heart from the six previous games and that winning run.
It’s propelled them up the table and they’re now in such a good position going into the last few months of the season.
Now they have that loss out of the way, they’ll be looking at the tough games coming up as they try to start another run.
The next three games are very tough but Town, with the way they set up, can cause these teams problems.
They’re comfortable not having possession but still having a threat. They’re massive, season-defining games for any promotion ambitions.
It might be a step too far for Town to break into the top six with the current gap, but if they go on another run, especially against teams around you, then you might get back into the picture.
But eighth, for Shrewsbury, is incredible. It really is. The manager, staff and the players deserve so much credit.
If they can pick up any results in these next three games, then it will keep the fans believing until the very end. I always fancy Shrewsbury against teams like Wycombe, Derby and Peterborough because the manager knows how to set up against them.
