Town lose out 2-0 to Sunderland.
Town: Joel Coleman, Josh Emmanuel, Mat Sadler, Omar Beckles, Shaun Whalley (Ollie Norburn, 77), Greg Docherty, Lee Angol, Alex Gilliead (Ryan Haynes 70), Luke Waterfall, Josh Laurent (Aaron Amadi-Hollway, 70), Anthony Grant.
Subs: Steve Arnold, Ryan Haynes, Fejiri Okenabirhie, James Bolton, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Ollie Norburn, Ryan Barnett.
Sunderland: Jon McLaughlin, Adam Matthews, Lee Cattermole, Chris Maguire, Dylan McGeouch, Tom Flanagan, Jack Baldwin, Reece James, Jerome Sinclair (Luke O’Nien, 81), Aiden McGeady (George Honeyman, 57), Josh Maja (Lynden Gooch, 54).
Subs: Robbin Ruiter, Alom Ozturk, George Honeyman, Lyden Gooch, Luke O’Nien, Bali Mumba, Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka
Referee: John Busby
Assistants: Matthew Jones and Gareth Mellor
Fourth official: Grant Taylor
Attendance: 9007 (1640)
Shrewsbury Town had to take a defeat at the hands of Sunderland - after the visitors registered two goals against Town.
Tom Flanagan and Luke O’Nien were the two Black Cats players involved in the goals – giving their team all three points on the road.
Team News:
John Askey made three changes to the starting line up to face Sunderland this afternoon. Introduced into the starting 11 were Greg Docherty, Lee Angol and Anthony Grant. Lenell John-Lewis, Fejiri Okenabirhie and Ollie Norburn all started on the bench.
First Half:
The first 10 minutes of the half started with both teams looking to attack the defensive line at any given chance. Omar Beckles and Greg Docherty were doing well on the left side of the pitch. Beckles drew a tackle early on from Lee Cattermole and the midfielder was shown a yellow card as the challenge came in late.
Both teams were having positive spells in the game, but was the home side looking the more dangerous of the two. Shaun Whalley and Alex Gilliead were continuing to trouble the Black Cats defence, but neither could find a Town head in the box during the early stages.
Just past the 30 minute mark Cattermole had a chance to put his side in the lead. A quick counter-attacking move saw the midfielder latch onto a cross in the box, but a poor connection was made and the ball lashed over the bar.
Town’s right-winger nearly spectacularly put Town in the lead with just 10 minutes to go in the half. Whalley floated in a long-range free kick, but the ball slipped through all the Sunderland bodies, striking the upper post and rebounding out.
The two teams went into the half-time break level on the score sheet after a competitive half. Both sides will be looking to go one better in the next 45.
Second Half:
Town and the visitors came out from the break with attacking desire. Town were doing well to retain possession, but the Black Cats looked intent on getting an opportunity.
The deadlock was broke by the visitors in the 59th minute. The Black Cats floated a ball into the box towards Tom Flanagan and the defender appeared to just get in front of Beckles to poke home the ball – which gave the away side the lead.
Town didn’t let the goal dent their intensity. Askey’s men were still pushing hard for an equaliser, but the Black Cats defensive resolve was remaining strong and doing well to limit any real clear-cut chances.
Ollie Norburn was brought onto the field in the latter stages of the game and nearly made an instant impact. The central midfielder lofted a lovely pass to Aaron Amadi-Hollway, but the striker couldn’t generate enough power to trouble Jon McLaughlin.
Sunderland doubled their lead with just seven minutes to go through second-half substitute Luke O’Nien. The midfielder received a nice pass into the box and calmly slotted the ball low into the net.
The game ended with Sunderland two up on the score sheet. After a competitive game – it was the visitors who had the finishing edge and took home all three points.