Whitchurch Alport put their name of the Shropshire Senior Cup
Shrewsbury Town: Sam Agius, Ryan Barnett (c), Dan Walker (Zac Hartley 66), Tom Davies, Brad Walker, Luke Ward, Lewis Redding, Luke McCormick, Charlie Caton (Jamaine Turner 61), James Rowland, Ryan Grosvenor (Archie Elmore 61)
Subs: Jaden Bevan, Ethan O’Toole,
Whitchurch Alport: David Parton, Joseph Minshall, Darren Campion (c), Dylan Bath, Leon Ashman, Stuart Dickin, Arron Johns, Blake Robinson, Alex Hughes, Jud Ellis, Joe Cuff
Subs: Daniel Skelton, Lee Pickerill, Stephen Jones, Ben Chilcott, Luke Walley
Ref: Rob Lewis
Attendance: 442
David Longwell names a young U18 side which has been bolstered by the addition of first team players Ryan Barnett, James Rowland, Brad Walker and Luke McCormick as Town look to hold onto the Shropshire Senior Cup.
Whitchurch looked lively from the kick-off and took the game to Town, there was a good chance with just two minutes on the clock when Blake Robinson found the space in the box to get a header in but Sam Agius was there to save.
The first booking of the game went to Whitchurch, the ball dropped into space and Lewis Redding looked to gain possession, Joe Cuff slid in a little too aggressive for ref Lewis and he was reaching for the yellow card.
Town were playing the ball around nicely and looking to patiently build, Walker played the ball in behind the Alport defence to find the run of Ryan Grosvenor, he held it up and played to Barnett, he took it past his marker and crossed to the back post, it was headed down to set-up Redding but his shot flashed across the face of goal.
There was a hairy moment for Town when a ball over the defence found Cuff in on goal, Agius was out quickly to close down the angle but the ref’s whistle was there to call for an offside.
Town had a nice counter-attack just past the quarter-hour mark after McCormick nicked the ball away, he drove downfield then played it to Caton who had found space in the box, he played it back McCormick who found the angle for a low shot but Parton was down quickly to save.
Town rattled the Alport woodwork on 20 minutes, a McCormick corner came back to him, he whipped a nice ball in with his right that Walker looped towards goal, Parton tipped it onto the bar and the ball came back to Grosvenor but his shot from a tight angle went over the bar.
Alport had a great chance to take the lead on the half-hour mark, a break down the right saw the ball crossed into the danger area, Hughes flicked it on and it dropped to Cuff on the edge of the box, he drove in a low shot but Agius was equal to it diving to his right at full stretch to save the ball.
Town were still creating chances and when Barnett beat his marker he cut into the box, he laid the ball off to Redding who fired in a good looking shot but Parton was there to tip the ball over the bar.
There was a great run from defence to attack when Barnett nicked the ball and drove downfield, he kept going and rode a couple of challenges before finding himself in the Alport box, he laid it off to Rowland who shot but it was blocked.
Alport picked up a second booking on 35 minutes when Ashman went in late on Redding. The ball was about 30 yards from goal, Brad Walker placed the ball and hit a lovely looking free-kick, which left Parton rooted to the spot, but the ball was millimetres wide of the target.
There was a great sight of goal for Whitchurch at the end of the half, a free-kick was floated into the Town box, it was headed clear by Walker but only as far as Ashman, he drove in a low shot but again Agius was equal to it with a great save.
Half-time: 0-0
Town were looking bright after the restart and created a string of chances with Caton firing a shot across the face of goal, Grosvenor hitting a low shot that Parton tipped away and Walker getting a powerful header in which was cleared off the line.
It was Alport though who grabbed the lead on 53 minutes when a ball over the Town defence found Aaron Johns in on goal, the Town defence had chances to clear but didn’t take them and then Johns found past Agius and tapped the ball home from close range to make it 1-0 to Whitchurch.
Whitchurch were starting to push Town with ball over the defence to turn Town, another ball created a good opening but Agius was there with a great diving save to deny a second goal.
Alport grabbed a second goal minutes later when a pass from Hughes found Aaron Johns in on goal, Walker was with him but Johns found the space to hit a shot across goal to give him his second and put Alport 2-0 up.
Town had a great chance minutes later to grab a goal back, good build-up saw the ball with McCormick on the edge of the box, he showed good feet to go past the defender and get in on goal but got under his shot and put it over the bar from close range.
The score went to 2-1 on 70 minutes after good work from Turner down the Town right, he got in behind the defence and whipped a great cross in, Ashman dived to head it away but got his angles wrong and powered the ball past Parton to give Town a lifeline.
Sam Agius was having a great game and was making a string of great saves when called upon, on 76 minutes he made another after Whitchurch found themselves in space, the shot came in but Agius was there with another great save at full stretch.
Walker picked the ball up in defence and played a lovely diagonal ball to find Turner, he held it up and played to McCormick who cut infield, he found himself in space on the edge of the box and fired in a low drive but Parton was equal to it with a good save.
Whitchurch grabbed a third on the stroke of 90 minutes when a quick counter-attack found Stephen Jones in on goal, Agius was quickly out to narrow the angle but Jones kept his composure and stroked the ball under Agius to make it 3-1 to Alport.
Full-time: 3-1