Goalscorers thoughts after the Southend win
Shrewsbury Town took a huge step towards securing their League One status for next season with a 1-0 win over play-off chasing Southend at the Greenhous Meadow.Junior Brown grabbed Town’s decisive goal as he netted in the 64th minute with a superb header from Shaun Whalley’s cross.
Brown has been a mainstay in the Salop backline and he was making his 50th league and cup appearance of the season and he spoke to the press after the match.
“Obviously it’s an important goal,” he said.
“It’s nice to get the three points which are vital, but the job’s not over yet, we’ve still got a bit to do.
“There’s a bit of relief to be honest. We’ve made it difficult for ourselves, we went on a great run and put ourselves in a good position, but we hit a sticky patch.
“But we showed today that we’re a side that’s battling and working hard. We’ve got to take that performance to Oxford and try and get another result.”
Brown’s goal was his fifth of the season, which marks a good effort from left-back,
“I said ‘put me in the box and I’ll get you a goal,’ it might have been a bit of a joke, but it paid off today.
“It was a great delivery [from Whalley] and I managed to get in the right place at the right time.
“Five goals isn’t a bad return. But I’m a bit greedy, I’d of liked to chip in with a few more. Hopefully I can take that onto next season.”
Brown also spoke of the importance of Salop’s team spirit, which has seen the side now go four matches unbeaten at a crucial stage of the season.
“We’ve got a good set of lads and we’ve been working hard. There’s been some tough times but we’ve all stuck together.
“It’s testament to the management and the staff you have kept us going and kept the morale high. They’ve made things enjoyable even when things haven’t been going quite how we’ve wanted.
“Performances like today are why we’ll finish the season safe and it gives us something to build on next year.”
Town now sit 18th with one match to play, six points clear of Port Vale in the final relegation spot, and although Vale have a game in hand, Town have a plus 11 goal difference on their rivals.
“The lads have really dug in and made big strides mentally and physically, and we’ve put our bodies on the line – hopefully we’ve got ourselves over the line.
“The season’s not gone how we’ve wanted and we’ve stumbled at times – but we’ve got ourselves there and I think with a good pre-season we can kick on next year.”