A review of Shrewsbury Town's incredible season
Shrewsbury Town Football Club were nailed on favourites to be relegation contenders at the start of the season but defied all the odds.
Paul Hurst’s men secured a place in third position with numerous games to go in the season and then a second trip to Wembley.
In the first moth of the season, Shrewsbury put their first foot forward in the Checkatrade trophy, with Hurst outlining his desire to do well in the competition. Town saw away Coventry City with a 3-2 win over the Sky Blues, which proved to be the first step towards the national stadium.
Another Checkatrade victory two months later helped Town progress to the next round. Shrewsbury made easy work of West Bromwich Albion’s Under 23 squad with a 3-0 win.
A one nil win against Wigan and a four nil win against Bristol Rovers in the league was starting to get the Town fans dreaming. The first half of the season went completely opposite to what the bookies predicted and had Town sitting high up in the League One table.
The second half of the season was not as straightforward as the Salop fans would have wanted. With Wigan and Blackburn firing on all cylinders, Town were starting to feel the pressure of the giants behind them.
February was a strong month for the squad with three wins and a draw from six games, but this wasn’t enough to stop Town slipping from the top two. March and April saw Town chasing the top two but the bookies favourites showed no sign of letting up and Town looked certain to be Play-Off contenders.
April was also the month that the Checkatrade final beckoned on Hurst’s squad. Unfortunately Town suffered a 1-0 defeat to League Two Lincoln City but this wasn’t to stop the squad battling on in the league and securing a third place Play-Off spot.
Town were tasked with facing Charlton Athletic in the first leg of the Play-Off Semi Final, a trip to The Valley beckoned. Jon Nolan got the only goal of the game; a volley from outside of the box nestled in the top corner and gave Town the lead going back to The Montgomery Waters Meadow.
The second leg was a tense affair with The Addicks coming to Shrewsbury with the aim of over turning the one nil deficit but Carlton Morris fired home the winner in the second half, giving Town the green light to progress to Wembley where Town are to face Rotherham United. The squad will now be looking to cap of a great season with one final push at Wembley Stadium.