Man of the Match performance helps Town to 3 points
By Matt Johnson
Stopper Chris Weale oozed a sense of elation after his starring role as Town sealed a vital three points in a 1-0 success over fierce rivals Walsall at the Greenhous Meadow.
Shrewsbury began the day in the relegation zone, but moved up six places to 15thin League One after a solitary Paul Parry goal sealed the victory.
“I’m really pleased, it was an important win,” said Weale. “We didn’t play the best but we grinded it out and got a good clean sheet.
“We’ve performed well this season but we are not as high up the league as we’d like to be, so the three points was welcome.
“If you’re performing then they do eventually turn into results. Obviously today we didn’t really perform but we got the three points. That’s football – you’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net.”
The Saddlers dominated the opening exchanges and Town had Weale to thank for keeping his side in contention. A string of world class saves within in the first 15 minutes provided the foundations for the victory and the keeper highlighted the importance of holding out under pressure.
“Sometimes a team has you on the ropes and you’ve got to weather the storm. You don’t know how long it’s going to last, but you’ve just got to get through it and then hopefully it’ll turn around.
“You can’t be under the cosh for a constant 90 minutes in professional football. You’re always going to get a chance to play your football and luckily we scored when we did.
“We’ve been performing well and haven’t been turning them into results but it is a results business and we need to pick up some points and today we did that.”
A first win in six is sure to breathe fresh confidence into the dressing room as the team look to climb away from danger, but Weale suggested that there should’ve be too much emphasis placed on league standings just yet.
“The result is a big lift. If you look at the league table then you do find yourself thinking ‘what has happening?’ but performance wise we’ve been doing well.
“Personally I don’t really look at the league table until after Christmas because it will reflect better where you are after then.”