Steve Cotterill takes action and Shrewsbury respond in style
The Shrewsbury Town players have been heavily praised for their form in 2023 – but on this occasion Steve Cotterill must take the credit.
At half-time at Pride Park on Saturday, the clash looked almost over. Derby County had established a two-goal cushion after 45 minutes where Salop were far from their best.
And when you add on to that the fact Paul Warne’s side had only conceded on four occasions since the end of October in League One, it looked as though Town would lose away from home in front of 2,251 loyal Salopians.
But the experienced boss, of well over 800 professional matches, had other ideas.
Firstly, a few tactical tweaks. Salop changing from a back three – which has served them so well this season – to a back four.
Also a few personnel changes. Unfortunately, Jordan Shipley and Ryan Bowman were the casualties, being replaced by Rekeil Pyke and Carl Winchester.
It meant Taylor Moore slotted into the left-back position and Matthew Pennington found himself at right-back.
The substitutes had an immediate impact, Winchester added more energy into the midfield and Pyke got in behind the Rams on a few occasions using his pace off the left.
Pyke was the man who robbed the Derby skipper Craig Forsyth on halfway and he had to foul the Town man to give them the free-kick which started the comeback. And, well, Winchester was everywhere.
Perhaps there were a few choice words said by the boss at the interval, encouraging his players to lift a little.
Whatever he did, the difference was stark and it paid dividends as his side came from behind to secure a much-deserved point in the second half – and they could quite possibly have gone on to win it in the end but it ended 2-2.
The game started in the worst possible fashion for Shrews. First, David McGoldrick went close missing a free header and then, 10 minutes later, they were behind.
An outstanding individual goal from Haydon Roberts, after Conor Hourihane’s lay-off on the edge of the box his powerful left-footed strike riffled into the top corner. There was nothing Marko Marosi could do. Cotterill did say post match he would have liked Town to have closed him down quicker.
The game went quiet from there, and considering Town did not threaten too much 1-0 would have been a good scoreline for them at half-time. But McGoldrick got his 16th of season, latching on to a ball over the top, getting the better of Chey Dunkley and getting his shot off.
As previously mentioned it looked a long way back, but Salop were reinvigorated after the break.
Tom Bayliss, the Derby County fan who has watched the Rams in play-off finals and Premier League games, struck with his seventh of the season – a curling free-kick past Joe Wildsmith after good work from Pyke to win it.
Town could have been level moments later when Matthew Pennington got his head to a corner, Bayliss showing his quality from dead-ball situations again, but Wildsmith saved.
Eventually, though, their pressure counted and just after the midway point of the second half Town were level.
Skipper Luke Leahy got his 10th goal of the season from the penalty spot after he was fouled while trying to get on the end of Christian Saydee’s ball in. It sent the travelling Town fans into meltdown.
Saydee went close to winning it for Shrews when he got a shot away from an acute angle, but the keeper denied him.
A clash of heads between Eiran Cashin and Killian Phillips meant the game stopped for a lengthy period and Phillips had to go off.
The boss revealed after the game the midfielder was ‘not in a good way’ so only time will tell how serious that injury is, but at first sight it looked a really nasty collision.
The game went into 10 minutes of added-on time, and Marosi produced a world-class save to deny Lewis Dobbin from close range.
The keeper’s body weight was travelling in the opposite direction to the ball but he stuck out a big left hand and palmed it away.
Since the turn of the year Cotterill’s side have been magnificent – winning seven out of their last 10 and losing just one game.
To take four points against play-off rivals, firstly by beating Wycombe and then battling their way to a draw where most sides often fail, they deserve enormous credit.
They must now kick on though, of course with a very small turnaround before the trip to Peterborough United in midweek in a game that was previously scheduled for before Christmas. The boss hinted last week there could be a change or two to keep things fresh.
