Dave Edwards: More gritty than pretty – but it’s job done for Shrewsbury
It was not the prettiest of games, and it would not have been the nicest game to watch, but getting that first away win was crucial.
It is almost more satisfying doing it in that way when you have not played well. There were some really good things to take from the game.
But, ultimately, Matt Taylor will be hoping they can control games a lot better with the football. They will want to try and dictate the tempo and get the opposition to move around, and they did not quite move the ball well enough.
But they got the three points, and when you look at the context of the opening few weeks of the season it is very important because if you lost on Saturday against Fleetwood and then made the trip to Carlisle next weekend it puts a bit of pressure on that. They would have found themselves on six points out of those first five games needing a result in Cumbria. Three wins from five is an excellent start – so they are in a good spot.
They played reasonably well in the home game against Lincoln and did not get their rewards for that, so it has balanced itself out with an unconvincing performance but a win.
Joe Anderson had a bit of a tough time against Ryan Graydon, but the turning point is the Dan Udoh goal.
