Shrews surging clear of drop zone
SHREWSBURY Town continued their revival under Paul Hurst with this deserved victory over a Bury side that created little.
Goals from loanees Tyler Roberts (West Brom) and Freddie Ladapo (Crystal Palace) extended the Shrews’ unbeaten run to five matches, moving Hurst’s side four points clear of the relegation zone.
A cautious Hurst said: “I’m delighted with the result but I’m not getting carried away.
“Our run has seen us quickly pull away from the bottom but we could as quickly be dragged back there.
“Overall we had the better of the play, the better of the opportunities. Bury have one of the best strike forces in this league but we limited their strikers to scraps.
“We are much more competitive now, better organised and squad wise we have options.
“The trick now is to keep every player happy.”
There was nothing between the sides in a first half of few chances.
The nearest the home team came to breaking the deadlock was a Roberts near-post flick that was well saved by Rob Lainton.
For all their attractive approach play the Shakers created little, with James Vaughan and Tom Pope starved of service, mainly due to Joe Riley containing Jermaine Pennant.
The Shrews began the second half in a more determined mood. Junior Brown turned Taylor Moore on the left, his cut-back was met by teenager Roberts who unerringly found the bottom left of Lainton’s net.
Bury offered next to nothing in the way of creating chances. The Shrews continued to probe an increasingly nervy Shakers rearguard and were rewarded when Roberts’ low-drive was parried by Lainton and Ladapo thumped home the rebound.
Home fans were given a nervous last few minutes when, following a rare bout of Bury, pressure, Jabob Mellis fired home but it was too little too late.
“Very disappointing,” declared Bury boss Chris Brass.
“We didn’t create much and I felt the two we conceded were poor goals. We weren’t sharp enough to close them down in our own box.
“Jermaine Pennant didn’t quite get up to speed and one or two others were not at their best. If we are to pull away from the drop zone, we need every player to put in a performance.
“We have a big squad. We need to get the new recruits into our way of playing and thinking.”