Town earn a 3-1 win against tonight's visitors
Town: Joel Coleman, Josh Emmanuel, Ryan Haynes (Josh Laurent, 66), Omar Beckles, Greg Docherty (Ryan Barnett, 88), Lee Angol, Fejiri Okenabirhie, James Bolton, Luke Waterfall, Ollie Norburn, Anthony Grant.
Subs: Steve Arnold, Mat Sadler, Lenell John-Lewis, Alex Gilliead, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Josh Laurent, Ryan Barnett.
Barnsley: Adam Davies, Kenny Dougall (Cameron McGeehan, 21), Ethan Pinnock, Liam Lindsay, Dimitri Cavare, Kieffer Moore, Brad Potts (George Moncur, 60), Mike Bahre, Mamadou Thiam (Ryan Hedges, 73), Alex Mowatt, Ben Williams.
Subs: Jack Walton, Ryan Hedges, Cameron McGeehan, George Moncur, Adam Jackson, Jordan Williams, Jacob Brown.
Referee: Scott Oldham
Assistants: Joe Simpson and Andrew Hendley
Fourth official: Mark Howes
Attendance: 5587 (852)
Shrewsbury Town earned a 3-1 win against Barnsley this evening at the Montgomery Waters Meadow.
Greg Docherty, Ollie Norburn and Luke Waterfall all got themselves on the score sheet as Askey’s men won all three points.
Team News:
John Askey made four changes to his line-up to face Barnsley. Shaun Whalley was left out of the match day squad due to injury. Gilliead, Laurent and Sadler start on the bench. Introduced into the match-day 11 are Fejiri Okenabirhie, James Bolton, Ryan Haynes and Ollie Norburn.
First Half:
Town started the game in perfect fashion, taking the lead after just two minutes. Josh Emmanuel whipped in a ball, which was fumbled by the Tykes keeper and Greg Docherty was on hand to lash home the ball into the back of the net – giving Town the early lead.
The first 10 minutes was a tightly contested period. The Tykes battled hard to recover from the early goal, but Town’s defensive resolve remained firm despite Barnsley’s attacking pressure.
Anthony Grant was given a yellow card in the 17th minute for a firm challenge on Barnsley’s Kenny Dougall.
Town had a good opportunity to double the lead mid-way through the half. A clever counter-attacking move sparked by Docherty nearly resulted with Lee Angol going through on goal, but the Tykes defence recovered well to challenge Town’s striker off the ball.
Town’s second goal came moments after Angol’s chance. Ollie Norburn found himself on the edge of the box with a yard of space. The midfielder let off a low driven shot, which deflected of Alex Mowatt and the ball looped into the back of the net.
Town were beginning to dominate the ball and have a strong grip on possession. Askey’s men were troubling Barnsley’s defence at any given chance and looked a real danger going forward.
The half came to an end with Town comfortably leading the game by two goals. Docherty and Norburn were the pair who fired Town in front.
Second Half:
Joel Coleman was called into action early on in the half. A long-range shot came from nowhere, but the shot stopper leaped well to get two strong hands to the ball.
The visitors managed to pull a goal back just a few seconds after their earlier chance. A goalmouth scramble fell in the favour of Ethan Pinnock and the defender managed to poke home the ball the into the back of the net.
Town didn’t look troubled despite the Tykes registering a goal. The Town back line still looked solid and were doing well to absorb Barnsley’s pressure, as the visitors were pushing hard for an equaliser.
Town were not sitting back and were pushing for another goal - that goal came in the 69th minute through Luke Waterfall. The defender latched onto Docherty’s cross and smartly guided the ball into the corner of the goal with his head, which made the score 3-1.
Barnsley were still attacking Town at any given chance, but Askey’s men were remaining resolute and kept the Tykes forwards at bay. Waterfall was doing well to utilise his head defensively and saw off any long balls.
The game came to an end with Town the deserved winners. A good display from Askey’s men helped his team take the win against Barnsley.