Westley’s fuming at Stevenage no-show
JON Taylor’s cool finish proved the difference as he lifted Shrewsbury’s hopes of pulling off a great escape from relegation and plunged Stevenage deeper into danger.
Top-scorer Taylor, Shrewsbury’s longest serving player, finished in the 57th minute to seal a hard-earned win for Mike Jackson’s side with his eighth goal of the season.
The hosts lost Asa Hall to a second bookable offence eight minutes from time and then it was all hands to the pump during seven minutes of stoppage time.
“It was a good win,” said Jackson. “It got a bit stressful towards the end.
“A big credit goes to the players. Everything for me should be about them and our crowd, noone else. It’s not about me or the staff, it’s about that group of players and those fans having a connection.”
Jackson reserved a special mention for match-winner Taylor who finished well.
Luke Freeman lost the ball to Dominic Iorfa 25 yards from his own goal and was emphatically punished.
Jackson added:“It’s another goal for Jon. I said to him before the game to go and get another goal and get into double figures. For a wideman that’s excellent.”
Shrewsbury made much of the early running with visiting keeper Chris Day twice extended to deal with shots from distance from Taylor and skipper Tamika Mkandawire.
Stevenage showed little going forward until just before the interval when Lukas Akins fired straight at Chris Weale from distance. The recalled Shrewsbury keeper then stopped a close range header from Francois Zoko.
Day came to Stevenage’s rescue again a minute into the second half, saving briliantly from Paul Parry but he was powerless to keep out Taylor’s decisive strike. Hall’s red card saw the visitors commit more men forward but Iorfa missed a great late chance.
Manager Graham Westley said:“I hope the players learn and face facts that this is difficult and you have to play with courage. “Not when things have gone wrong and in reaction to that but you have to play with courage from the outset.
“What we didn’t show was enough quality and desire to take our game forward in the early stages.We allowed them to get a foothold.
“Sure, they had a home crowd, the home environment, they had the conditions, and those are factors, but we didn’t show enough courage.
“It takes big men, big players, to pull the shirts on and go out there and perform.”