Shrewsbury Town secure a priceless victory against MK Dons as Shaun Whalley’s goal seals a third win of the campaign.
The veteran winger has conjured up many memorable moments since his arrival from Luton in 2015. And the former AFC Telford winger’s 56th minute opener proved decisive to breath new life into Steve Cotterill’s side.
There were two changes from the side that lost 2-1 against Ipswich last weekend. Aaron Pierre was ruled out with an achillies injury, whilst Ryan Bowman dropped to the bench following his heart scare. Nathanael Ogbeta and Sam Cosgrove were drafted in. Josh Daniels returned to the bench following an ankle problem.
MK Dons dominated possession without carving any real opportunities. Renowned for their attacking play, the visitors retained the ball well whilst stretching Town in the process, however, Marko Marosi was largely a bystander.
At the other end, Sam Cosgrove struck a volley from outside the box – Andrew Fisher scampered across goal and managed to thwart the former Aberdeen target man. A contest that was slow in terms of goal action, came to life eight minutes prior to the break. Troy Parrott had the presence of mind to thread a pass through the eye of a needle which was latched on by Mo Eisa. The forward attempted to cash in on the sublime pass but found himself at a narrow angle – his eventual shot was blocked by the leg of Marko Marosi.
Town’s final chance of the half saw Elliott Bennett cut the ball back for an advancing Daniel Udoh but the pass was just behind the Nigerian.
The second half was also a 45-minute period devoid on quality chances. MK Dons had a penalty appeal turned down when Mo Eisa acrobatically fell to the ground under an Elliott Bennett challenge, the referee rightly waved play on.
With 56 minutes on the clock, Town nudged themselves into the lead. Dan Udoh picked up the baton on the halfway mark and bulldozed forward. He then played Shaun Whalley through who kept his composure to lift over the on-rushing Andrew Fisher.
Liam Manning’s side responded initially courtesy of Tottenham loanee Troy Parrott. He found himself in a tight angle – his strike was initially fumbled by Marko Marosi but gathered at the second attempt. Then, Scott Twine smashed a shot over the bar as the visitors attempted to claw themselves back into the game.
It seemed that any Dons equaliser would come through Scott Twine. The former Newport loanee was completely unmarked inside the box but Matthew Pennington charged down his powerful effort. It was all MK Dons with Town defending deeply to protect a rare clean sheet.
However, the visitors only had half chances, as Town managed to cling on to a morale-boosting win. Town are away to Oxford on Tuesday night, whilst MK Dons go to Wigan.
Attendance: 5,711 (394 away fans)
Team Line Ups
Shrewsbury Town
1. Marosi, 23. Nurse (89), 4. Ebanks-Landell, 5. Pennington, 17. Bennett, 7. Whalley, 16. Davis, 3. Leahy, 14. Ogbeta, 11. Udoh (70), 9. Cosgrove (45)
Subs: 12. Bowman (45), 13. Burgoyne, 15. Pyke (70), 18. Bloxham (89), 19. Caton, 22. Daniels, 24. Leshabela
Subs Not Used: 13. Burgoyne, 19. Caton, 22. Daniels, 24. Leshabela
MK Dons
1. Fisher, 5. O’Hora (87), 6. Darling, 3. Lewington, 30. Kioso, 7. O’Riley, 8. Kasumu, 21. Harvie, 9. Twine (69), 20. Parrott (75), 10. Eisa
Subs: 2. Watson (87), 11. Brown, 15. Baldwin, 16. McEachran, 18. Boateng (69), 23. Ravizzoli, 36. Watters (75)
Subs Not Used: 11. Brown, 15. Baldwin, 16. McEachran, 23. Ravizzoli
Other League One Results
AFC Wimbledon 2 – 2 Sheffield Wednesday
Bolton 0 – 4 Wigan
Cambridge 2 – 2 Ipswich
Cheltenham 1 – 0 Accrington
Doncaster 0 – 2 Wycombe
Fleetwood 3 – 0 Crewe
Gillingham 1 – 2 Sunderland
Lincoln 2 – 1 Charlton
Oxford 1 – 3 Plymouth
Rotherham 4 – 1 Portsmouth
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