Analysis: A rare bad day in a season of promise and progress for Shrewsbury
Saturday’s defeat at Charlton was a bad day for Shrewsbury – but it was one of a few bad days this season.
If results like this were a regular occurrence, it would be a concern among Shrewsbury fans, but they have not been.
One of the reasons Salop have tasted success this season has been down to defensive solidity.
Steve Cotterill’s men have been well-organised and hard to break down while also offering a goal threat.
Unfortunately, during Saturday’s clash at The Valley, there were too many costly mistakes in the Shrews team which Charlton ruthlessly punished.
In truth, the score line at half-time flattered the hosts. It was a fairly even first half but the Addicks showed real quality in front of goal.
Shrews got into some really dangerous positions themselves but often the final ball was just missing and they were unable to calve open any real clear-cut opportunities.
At the other end, Charlton just seemed to have too much for Town on the day whether that was bending in free-kicks or terrific bits of individual skill that created openings – and everything they hit seemed to go in.
Salop certainly did not help themselves by contributing to their hosts’ lead with lapses of concentration and gifting away possession too easily in dangerous areas.
It is always difficult for a side to come out fighting while trailing by three goals at the half-time interval. At that stage of the game, they were in a no-win situation.
It looked like a really long way back and with the home crowd of more than 12,000 roaring on Dean Holden’s men, the odds were stacked in Charlton’s favour.
The Shrewsbury Town boss, Steve Cotterill, was perhaps accurate in his assessment of the second period when he said he felt his players were a bit naive.
As is always the case, Town’s players put in 100 per cent effort but unfortunately, it could not stop them from going further behind.
To make matters worse, Tom Flanagan received what looked to be a harsh second yellow card, after Andrew Madley adjudged the defender to have handled the ball. There could be no doubt about the first offence, though – that was definitely a booking as his aggressive mistimed challenge gave away the free-kick which led to the first goal.
But the effort from Steven Sessegnon, for the handball incident, was from point-blank range – with little the Town defender could do about it.
It was double punishment because the hosts’ were given the chance to add insult to injury from the penalty spot.
Charlton ended with six goals, inflicting Salop’s heaviest defeat of the League One season by some distance.
These results can happen, they happen to some of the best teams around but it was not a good day at the office for Cotterill’s men.
Charlton struck first. Scott Fraser whipped in a wonderful, curling free-kick from 25 yards out with his left foot. It was a goal of real quality.
Albie Morgan then doubled their lead with a powerful shot from just inside the penalty area after a swift Addicks counter-attack.
If Town had trailed by two goals at the interval, they could have found a way back into the game. However, Jes Rak-Sakyi’s solo effort in stoppage time but pay to that. He picked up the ball after Flanagan had misplaced a pass. The forward got the better of Chey Dunkley before poking home.
Hopes of a second-half comeback were dashed just before the hour mark when Miles Leaburn scored a fourth. Shrewsbury were caught on the counter again and after Charlton’s forward found half a yard to get a shot off – the early nature of his strike caught both Marko Marosi and Dunkley off guard.
Leaburn slotted home a fifth from the penalty after Flanagan’s alleged handball.
The sixth and final goal came in stoppage time when Macauley Bonne picked up a scuffed shot in the penalty area, finding himself in loads of space to add his side’s tally.
Flanagan’s sending off provides Cotterill with another conundrum. He will now spend time out of the team while he serves his suspension. And with Matthew Pennington also coming off with what looked to be a head injury and Rekeil Pyke missing the clash at The Valley, with an Achilles problem, the boss might be light on numbers.
The result is a complete outlier. There have been very few instances this season where Salop’s games have had more than one goal in them. It is key now for Shrewsbury to regroup and prepare for the remaining eight League One games. There is plenty of credit in the bank for this team who have given their supporters many memorable moments during the course of this season. This is a blip and the Salop players will be searching to rectify it against Peterborough next week.
