Shrewsbury Town secure a vital draw against Coventry City.
City: Lee Burge, Brandon Mason (Jordan Willis, 72), Tom Davies, Liam Kelly, Jordy Hiwula, Dominic Hyam, Dujon Sterling, Amadou Bakayoko (Conor Chaplin, 63), Luke Thomas, Bright Enobakahre, Jordan Shipley.
Subs: Corey Addai, Jordan Willis, Conor Chaplin, Junior Brown, Jordan Ponticelli, Zain Westbrook, Charlie Wakefield.
Town: Jonathan Mitchell, Ro-Shaun Williams, Omar Beckles, Greg Docherty, Tyrese Campbell, James Bolton, Alex Gilliead (Romain Vincelot, 63), Luke Waterfall, Scott Golbourne, Josh Laurent, Anthony Grant (Fejiri Okenabirhie, 76).
Subs: Reice Charles-Cook, Mat Sadler, Fejiri Okenabirhie, Romain Vincelot, Sam Smith, Stefan Payne.
Referee: Alan Young
Assistants: Adrian Tranter and Isaac Searle
Fourth official: Ian Smedley
Attendance: 13, 549
Shrewsbury Town had to battle back from a goal down to earn a point against Coventry City.
Fejiri Okenabirhie was the man for Town who got on the score sheet to help his side take a point. A point which secured Town’s Sky Bet League One status.
First-Half
The first 15 minutes saw the home side marching forward and looking to break Town down and play the ball into the box. Town were looking dangerous on the counter-attack through Tyrese Campbell and Greg Docherty but couldn’t calve out a clear chance.
The Sky Blues managed to take the lead shortly after the 15-minute mark through Jordan Shipley. Town would have been disappointed as Jonathan Mitchell saved the strikers’ initial shot but couldn’t avert the forward from converting the rebound just outside the six-yard box.
Anthony Grant was given a yellow card in the 29th minute by referee Alan Young during a break of play.
Campbell stung the palms of the Sky Blues keeper Lee Burge in the 32nd minute with a strong shot. The striker got on the end of the pass from Docherty and let off his effort just inside the box. Unfortunately for Town the striker couldn’t guide the ball past the Coventry keeper.
Town would have thought they were in on goal shortly before the half-time break. Coventry miss placed a pass backwards towards Burge and Campbell was inches away from nicking the ball around the keeper and tapping into the net.
The half came to an end with the home side taking the one goal advantage into the break.
Second-Half:
Town came out for the second-half looking to break down the Coventry defence but were struggling to find space in and around the box. Both Campbell and Docherty were trying to be positive with the ball but found opportunities hard to come by.
The game lacked any real goalmouth action as the clock ticked on towards the hour mark. The battle for the ball was being played out in the middle of the park and neither team were able to sustain a period of possession.
Town came close in the 69th minute through left-back Scott Golbourne. The defender managed to latch onto a bouncing ball and was able to swing his leg and make a solid connection. Despite beating the keeper, the shot just beat the post.
The Sky Blues’ lead was nearly taken away in the 74th minute as Town came close again. James Bolton got on the end of a set-piece delivery but couldn’t guide his header on target.
Town finally got the breakthrough in the 78th minute. Shortly after coming on Fejiri Okenabirhie managed to stab home the ball into the back of the net after Luke Waterfall’s long-range shot drifted wide – bringing Town back onto level terms.
The game came to an end with Town securing a point. A point which secures Town’s Sky Bet League One status.