Shrewsbury Town narrowly miss out on a spot in the next round
Wolves: John Ruddy, Matt Doherty, Ryan Bennett, Ivan Cavaleiro (Niall Ennis, 89), Helder Costa (Joao Moutinho, 69), Willy Boly, Connor Coady, Morgan Gibbs-White, Romain Saiss, Jonny Otto, Adama Traore (Raul Jimenez, 77).
Subs: Will Norris, Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez, Ryan Giles, Joao Moutinho, Leander Dendoncker, Niall Ennis.
Town: Steve Arnold, Ryan Haynes, Omar Beckles, Greg Docherty, Fejiri Okenabirhie (Aaron Amadi-Holloway, 78), James Bolton, Romain Vincelot (Ryan Sears, 38), Alex Gilliead (Shaun Whalley, 66), Luke Waterfall, Josh Laurent, Ollie Norburn.
Subs: Dave Edwards, Shaun Whalley, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Ryan Sears, Reice Charles-Cook, James Rowland, Luke Ward,
Referee: Lee Probert
Assistants: Adrian Holmes and Derek Eaton
Fourth official: Darren Bond
Attendance: 28,844 (3,131 from Town)
Despite scoring two goals, Town weren’t able to cause an upset and secure a spot in the FA Cup fifth-round.
Josh Laurent and James Bolton got Town’s goals but it wasn’t enough to outscore the home side who won 3-2.
First Half:
Town’s evening didn’t get off to a great start inside Molineux as the home side managed to take an early lead. A pacey whipped cross found Matt Doherty and the defender thrashed the ball into the bottom left corner.
Town responded in the best way just after the 10-minute mark. Ollie Norburn swung in a corner and James Bolton launched himself towards the ball and managed to head in past John Ruddy.
Wolves looked to be in a again just after 20 minutes had passed by. Jonny Otto managed to steer a volley on target but Luke Waterfall threw himself in front of the ball to deny the home side a real chance at their second goal.
Wolves were pressuring Town’s back line and were having success on the wings. Jonny and Doherty were proving to be a good challenge for Town’s fullbacks but the pair were remaining solid.
Norburn was given a yellow card in the 35th minute for fouling Adama Traore as the winger looked to burst through the midfield.
Town were growing into the game as the minutes went by and were looking more and more dangerous as the first-half was drawing to a close. In the 40th minute Josh Laurent tried a long-range shot and his bravery paid off as the ball slipped under Ruddy and into the back of the net.
The end-to-end half continued towards the last seconds of injury time and the home side managed to draw level. Jonny fired in another good cross and Doherty was there once again to head home for the Molineux men.
The half came to an end with both teams all-square. Town would have been disappointed not to have gone into the break in the lead but would have been proud to have taken the game to the Premier League outfit.
Second Half:
The home side came out from the break determined to force the ball into Town’s half. Wolves were having success on the wings, particularity with Traore – who utilised his explosive pace time and time again.
Some individual brilliance from Ivan Cavaleiro in the 62nd minute gave Wolves the lead once again. Ryan Haynes was unable to block the wingers run into the box - Cavaleiro cut inside with the ball and slotted home into the corner of the goal.
Town were pushing back and didn’t let the home sides advances deter them from pressuring the Wolves back line. Despite the good work going forward, Town were being limited to long-range efforts.
Second-half substitution Raul Jimenez nearly gave Wolves another goal in the 80th minute. The striker received a pass just inside the box and guided his shot towards the corner of the goal, but Steve Arnold got down well to claim the ball.
Omar Beckles nearly did the same thing for Town up the other end of the pitch. The defenders great run was capped off with a good shot, but his effort narrowly went the wrong side of the post.
The game came to an end with the home side taking the win and securing a spot in the fifth round. A resilient performance from Town wasn’t enough to snatch the win from Nuno’s Wolves.