A late Shaun Whalley goal saw Shrewsbury Town come from behind to draw 1-1 against 10-man Ipswich Town at Montgomery Waters Meadow in Sky Bet League One on Saturday.
Salop got off a bad start after going behind just six minutes after kick-off as James Norwood headed in Janoi Donacien’s cross past Marko Marosi. Just two minutes earlier, Donacien had put in an identical cross which found Conor Chaplin, but Marosi managed to pull off a spectacular save from that header.
There was a lengthy stoppage in the first half which resulted in ten minutes being added on when in the 11th minute, there was a forced change but from the officials when the assistant referee on the far side injured himself. There was a call over the PA system for a qualified referee and it turned into one Salop fan's lucky day when he stepped into the dugout and became a temporary fourth official, much to the delighted of both sets of fans around the Meadow.
Shrewsbury’s best chance of the first half came in the 40th minute when Dan Udoh’s cross from the left-hand side found its way to Josh Daniels, who rose highest and put his header narrowly wide.
In the second half, Marosi was called into another great save when Luke Leahy’s attempted clearance from an Ipswich cross into the box went straight towards the Salop net. However, Marosi was quick to react and put his body on the line to stop the deflected clearance.
The visitors were reduced to ten men on the stroke of the 75th minute when Cameron Burgess was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Marosi when the Salop keeper was clearing the ball.
The sending off swung the momentum in Steve Cotterill’s side's favour and they got their equaliser in the 84th minute when an unbelievable half-volley from Shaun Whalley from about 25-yards looped over Walton and into the back of the net.
The Meadow erupted after the goal and Salop dominated the game from then on, loading the box and throwing balls into it from all angles trying to find a winner. However, despite the late onslaught, Salop couldn’t find a winner and the points where shared.
Teams:
Salop: Marko Marosi (GK), Luke Leahy, Matthew Pennington, Tyrese Fornah, Josh Vela, Daniel Udoh (Tom Bloxham, 90), Ryan Bowman, Elliott Bennett (C), Josh Daniels (Shaun Whalley, 65’), George Nurse, Tom Flanagan
Subs Not Used: Harry Burgoyne (GK), Aaron Pierre, Charlie Caton, Kade Craig, Saikou Janneh
Ipswich Town: Christian Walton, Matt Penny, Luke Woolfenden, Wes Burns, James Norwood (Macauley Bonne, 83’), Tyreeq Bakinson, Conor Chaplin, Sone Aluko (Dominic Thompson, 77), Cameron Burgess, Janoi Donacien, Sam Morsy (C)
Subs Not Used: Vaclav Hladky (GK), Joe Pigott, Idris El Mizouni, Tom Carroll, Bersant Celina
Bookings:
Luke Leahy was booked in the 29th minute for what appeared to be a pull back on Sone Aluko. Matthew Pennington was then booked in the 43rd minute for a challenge through the back of Conor Chaplin. Josh Vela was booked in the 66th for a foul on Wes Burns.
Sam Morsy was booked for the visitors in the 24th minute and was rather fortunate to only be shown a yellow for a late tackle on Elliott Bennett. Cameron Burgess was booked in first half stoppage time for pulling back Ryan Bowman when the Salop striker was on the attack. Burgess was then given his marching orders in the 75th minute for a late tackle on Marko Marosi when the Salop keeper was clearing the ball.
There was a big coming together in the 87th minute between a number of players which saw George Nurse for Salop and Janoi Donacien and Wes Burns for Ipswich all given yellow cards.
Officials:
Referee: Darren Handley
Assistant Referees: Matthew Smith & David Hunt
Fourth Official: Lisa Rashid
