Shrews in box seat as Iron’s run ends

PAUL HURST saluted his Shrewsbury side’s work ethic as they ended Scunthorpe United’s long unbeaten run at Glanford Park.

The Iron had gone more than 13 months and 26 matches without losing a league game in front of their own fans – not that the Shrews boss realised the scale of the achievement.

“I knew Scunthorpe have got a good home record but I wasn’t aware it was what it was,” said Hurst, whose side are building momentum after a fourth win in five.

“Some stats you look at, some you don’t. More important was coming here and putting in a performance to see if we could extend the run we’ve been on.

“The team showed a lot of fight to really stop Scunthorpe getting in a flow and playing their game.

“While I think Scunthorpe have got good players, a lot of their success is based on how hard they work..

“We closed them down, like they do other teams, for large parts, right up until the end. It was a big team effort.”

Freddie Ladapo struck the game’s only goal in the 69th minute, firing home from in the box to finish off some great work by strike partner Tyler Roberts.

It was a reward for a display of guile and endeavour, in which the home side had 15 efforts at goal – but only a couple on target. One of those came in the 88th minute, when substitute Craig Davies got his head on the end of a deep cross by Iron fullback Harry Toffolo.

It looked unstoppable, yet somehow, at full stretch, Shrews keeper Jason Leutwiler reached out with one hand to claw it away.

Scunthorpe, who have now slipped five points behind leaders Sheffield United, created a few half-chances during the opening 45 minutes, but aside from a flicked header which Leutwiler saved, Kevin van Veen was off target.

“My reaction is the same as everybody else – disappointment,” said United manager Graham Alexander.

“The unbeaten run is something everyone who has been part of the club has worked hard to achieve. But it’s gone now and we have to move on.

“We huffed and puffed and worked hard but we didn’t make the right decisions in the attacking third.

“It was a game of few chances at either end and the goal they got on the break proved to be the decisive one.

“Credit to Shrewsbury, I thought they played well. The save their keeper made from Craig Davies was unbelievable and those are match-defining moments.”