Lewis Poole reflects on the 2017/18 Sky Bet League One season
Town’s overall season form had put the team in a strong position heading into the latter stages. A strong end to February put Hurst’s men in a good position to attack March in a similar fashion.
The first game of the month was huge. Town welcomed Yeovil to The Montgomery Waters Meadow for the Checkatrade Trophy semi final. A place in the final and a trip to Wembley was at stake but Hurst’s men did nit falter and got the win that would take them to the national stadium. A comfortable performance all round was capped off with Carlton Morris’s goal, which sent the Shrews to Wembley.
The next game for The Shrews was a tough trip away to Scunthorpe United. Glanford Park was to host The Shrews as Hurst’s men looked to gather another three points on the road. In difficult snowy and cold conditions Town got the job done, despite going a goal down early on in the game. Jon Nolan and Stefan Payne were the goal scorers that day and were both vying for player of the season with their contribution to the team.
There was no let up in games as the regular season was starting to reach the end. A trip to Northampton was next as Town looked to get another win against The Cobblers. Just after three days after battling it out with Scunthorpe, Town earned a tough draw at Sixfields Stadium. Despite going down to ten men due to Abu Ogogo’s red card and going one nil down, Town managed to show their early season character and battle back to score level. Nolan was the saviour for Town as the midfielder made sure they didn’t leave empty handed.
After two games on the road, Town would have been pleased to be back in front of their own fans at The Montgomery Waters Meadow. AFC Wimbledon were the visitors to Shropshire that day but Town sent them home empty handed. Top goal scorer Stefan Payne notched again for Town as the team gathered all three points. This win put The Shrews back in first place in a tightly contested race to the top.
The penultimate game of the month was a trip to Rochdale United. Despite having another positive month, Town los out 3-1 to The Dale as Henderson, Davies and Rathbone notched passed Dean Henderson. Town did get one goal through Nathan Thomas but this wasn’t enough to stop Town from slipping down two places into third place.
Town’s March month was a strong and positive month for the club but the fans would have been disappointed to see their team drop back down into third place.