Analysis: Play time for Shrewsbury Town kids at end of the summer break
Basked in late-August sunshine, Shrewsbury signed off the summer of 2024 with their brightest performance of the year.
But while the sun deserted the Croud Meadow as the afternoon progressed, the drive, effort and quality of the Town players did not as they said hello to their first points of the season.
On an afternoon filled with positivity for those in the blue and amber corner of the county, it was Salop’s young players who stole the show, combining the youthful exuberance expected from them with a level of discipline and effort often only usually seen in seasoned professionals.
Chelsea loanee Leo Castledine, thrown in from the start for his first taste of league football, and Town’s own academy starlet Tom Bloxham scored the goals, but it was Tommie O’Reilly that led the way for the hosts from the off, albeit lacking in the discipline department when he picked up an unnecessary early yellow card for delaying an Orient free-kick.
That moment of naivety aside, the Aston Villa youngster was the Shrewsbury player that settled into the game the quickest after a nervy opening 10 minutes, constantly demanding the ball from his more senior teammates.
His tricky footwork caused the O’s regular problems, drawing three fouls in dangerous areas and forcing manager Richie Wellens to substitute his commanding centre-back Dan Happe after just 50 minutes to protect him from further punishment at the hands of the 20-year-old.
Importantly for the youngster, and even more importantly for Town, this was the afternoon that O’Reilly added an end product to his easy-on-the-eye general play.
After showing great strength to hold off his marker, the clinical ball played through the eye of a needle to fellow loanee Castledine was that of a Premier League number 10.
