Shrewsbury Town surpass Rochdale AFC with a 2-0 win at Spotland Stadium.
Two goals, a clean sheet and a commanding performance saw Shrewsbury Town leave Rochdale AFC's Spotland Stadium with all three points.
Second-half goals from Josh Daniels and Josh Vela were ultimately the difference between the two teams as the win was taken back to Shropshire.
It was the home side who had the first real opportunity to open the scores in the 15th minute. However, after a goalmouth scramble, Town were able to clear the ball away from the box and the teams remained level. The Dale would have been disappointed to have not registered a shot on goal.
With his weak foot, Nathanael Ogbeta managed to let off a shot at goal for Salop in the later moments of the first-half. The wing-back dribbled into the final-third well and cut inside to find a yard of space. Despite this, the shot lacked power and Dale shot-stopper Gavin Bazunu dealt with the effort comfortably.
Salop found the breakthrough with 55 minutes on the clock. Josh Daniels jumped well at the back post to convert Shaun Whalley's well-worked deep cross into the box. The Dale man in the sticks did get a hand to the ball but couldn't deny Town's wing-back the opener.
A dangerous counter-attack from Steve Cotterill's men earned Salop the second goal of the fixture with just over 25 minutes to go. Josh Vela got on the end of a defence-splitting pass and the midfielder made the home side pay with a smart finish into the bottom corner of the net.
A commanding defensive performance from Salop proved to frustrate the home side. Matthew Pennington's contribution as a second-half substitute helped lockout the home side who threw everything at the Town backline as the minutes ticked down.
The game came to an end with Steve Cotterill's men taking the win back to Shropshire after a positive performance on the road.
The teams:
Dale: Gavin Bazunu, Ryan McLaughlin (Kwado Baah, 65), Gabriel Osho (Alex Newby 79), Paul McShane (Aaron Morley, 65), Eoghan O'Connell, Stephen Humphrys, Jimmy Keohane, Haydon Roberts, Matty Done, Conor Grant, Connor Shaughnessy.
Subs not used: Jay Lynch, Ethan Brierly, Joe Dunne.
Town: Harry Burgoyne, Ro-Shaun Williams, Sean Goss, Shaun Whalley (Curtis Main, 87), Josh Vela, Nathanael Ogbeta, Brad Walker (Matthew Pennington. 74), Josh Daniels, Daniel Udoh (Rekeil Pyke, 87), Ethan Ebanks-Landell, David Davis (Dave Edwards, 74).
Subs not used: Matija Sarkic, Ryan Sears, Harry Chapman.
Officials:
Referee: Martin Coy
Assistants: Chris Isherwood and Richard Wigglesworth
Fourth Official: Ben Toner
Bookings:
Ro-Shaun Williams was shown the first yellow card of the fixture for a foul on Stephen Humphrys.
Paul McShane was shown a yellow card in the 26th minute for a foul on Dan Udoh in the Dale half.
Kwado Baah was the third man shown a yellow card by referee Ben Toner. The Dale man fouled Town goal-scorer Josh Daniels on the end of the Salop box.
