Town 0 Coventry City 0
Town: Leutwiler; Grimmer, Nsiala, Sadler ©, Brown; Whalley (45+10), Deegan, Yates, Dodds (81); Roberts; Humphrys (60)Subs: Halstead, Riley (81), Morris, Ladapo (60), Leitch-Smith, Rodman (45+10), El-Abd
Coventry City: Burge; Kelly-Evans, Turnbull, Clarke ©, Haynes; Rose (20), Bigirimana, Riley; G. Thomas, Beavon, K. Thomas (72)
Subs: Charles-Cook, Gadzhev, Vernam, Jones (72), Reid, Rawson, Stevenson (20)
Ref: Robert Jones
Assistants: Richard Bartlett and Peter Gibbons
Fourth Official: Kevin Morris
Attendance: 6205 (651)
Shrewsbury Town missed the chance to make it six home league wins in a row as they fought out a frustrating 0-0 draw with Coventry City but finished with another important clean sheet.
Clear-cut chances were hard to come by throughout but Town will rue Tyler Roberts’ penalty miss in the final minutes of the first half.
Remarkably the chance from the spot came in the 16th minute of time added on at the end of the first period after a sickening clash saw Coventry’s Andy Rose stretched off after just two minutes.
Coventry were forced to change their starting line-up just before kick off with Gael Bigirimana coming in for former Wolves man Kevin Foley who was injured in the warm up.
The away side suffered a further blow after just two minutes when captain Nathan Clarke collided with Rose.
The midfielder was treated on the pitch for nearly 20 minutes before being taken away in an ambulance.
The majority of the first half went on to reflect the flat mood in the stadium following the early incident, with little quality in vital areas and no chances in front of goal.
Jordan Turnbull’s volley from distance was the first effort from either side but it was comfortably stopped by Jayson Leutwiler.
That chance seemed to spark Town into life as Stephen Humphrys found space after Roberts won the ball high up the pitch, but his placed effort rolled just wide of the left hand post.
Stuart Beavon then forced a carbon copy of Leutwiler’s earlier save, as the game moved into the unusual territory of 19 minutes of added time.
Town were lacking the fluidity they showed during the 4-3 win vs. Charlton on Tuesday, and they received a blow after 10 minutes of the added time as Shaun Whalley had to be replaced with injury.
Town were gifted a glorious chance to go into the break in front after Bigirimana handled in the area from a corner.
Tyler Roberts’ spot kick however was poor and easily saved by Lee Burge low to his left to keep the scores level at half time.
Half Time: Shrewsbury Town 0-0 Coventry City
The second period followed a similar pattern as the first, as both teams still struggled to get a hold on the game.
Coventry should have taken the lead early in the half after a real scramble in the area, but heroic defending with several Town players making vital blocks kept the score at 0-0.
A minute later the away side again forced their way through the Town backline as George Thomas weaved towards goal but he fired his effort over.
Freddie Ladapo was introduced on the hour mark and he made an instant impact with his intensity and power when chasing down the Coventry back line.
He won a free kick in a dangerous area just four minutes after coming on, but Roberts’ effort was comfortably deflected to safety.
Louis Dodds then had a chance to give his side the lead after Toto Nsiala’s header fell to him in the six-yard box but the midfielder could only loop his header onto the roof of the net.
Chances were at a premium after that moment as both sides toiled to create a winning chance, and Beavon gave Town a real scare with two minutes left as he forced a good save from Leutwiler with a good strike from the edge of the area.
There was to be no late drama though and Town were made to settle for a point against League One’s bottom team.
Full Time: Shrewsbury Town 0-0 Coventry City