Shrewsbury Town emerge victorious from an enthralling contest to cruise beyond MK Dons in a Tuesday night delight.
Not a bad evenings work for Shrewsbury Town. Much of the pre-match chat centred around Will Grigg and the Northern Ireland international’s decision to renege on a deal and join MK Dons. The striker did score but by that time it was immaterial as goals from Sean Goss, Ollie Norburn, and Curtis Main saw Town 3-0 up inside 20 minutes.
Grigg’s goal arrived in the 22nd minute to complete a breath-taking start to the contest. MK Dons had won all three of their previous games, but were left shellshocked when Goss made it 4-1 just before the hour mark. The former Manchester United midfielder is very much back in the equation after being frozen out under previous manager Sam Ricketts, but Goss’ first English league goals of his career are further demonstration of the German born man’s importance to the side.
Connor Brown reduced the arrears for Russell Martin’s side with eight minutes to go, but the evening belonged to Shrewsbury as winning becomes a recurrent theme.
The unchanged home side made the perfect start to the match and opened the scoring in the fourth minute. The rejuvenated Donald Love picked out Sean Goss who controlled the delivery expertly and fired beyond ex-Blackburn stopper Andy Fisher. MK Dons’ misery was compounded even further when Ben Gladwin conceded a spot kick. Ollie Norburn took responsibility to double Shrewsbury’s lead with just eight minutes on the clock.
2-0 up and cruising Town were provided with a literal helping hand by Harry Darling to rub salt into gaping wounds. Another penalty but this time a different taker. Curtis Main dispatched the penalty – subsequently scoring his first goal in English football for over three years.
The visitors finally rallied and Will Grigg managed to inevitably score. Ethan Laird powered down the right and drifted a cross for the ex-Brentford man who executed a simple finish at the back post. Then Harry Darling bulldozed through the middle and the ball eventually trickled through to Cameron Jerome. The striker’s snapshot was dealt with by Matija Sarkic.
The game was over as a contest in the 57th minute. O’Reilly took too much time to assess his options allowing Josh Vela to seize control. The former Hibs midfielder unselfishly found Sean Goss unmarked and he couldn’t miss. Russell Martin sent on a number of changes, but Shrewsbury were comfortable – Harvie did flash a shot across the face of goal but Sarkic wasn’t worked.
The Dons did manage to make the scoreline somewhat more bearable with eight minutes to go. Former Wolves and Norwich midfielder Andrew Surman found Connor Brown who tapped home. Prior to that Harry Darling had an effort cleared off the line.
Despite a late scare, Shrewsbury Town recorded another impressive win. They move up to 16th, whilst MK Dons drop to 14th. Shrewsbury go to Bristol Rovers on Saturday, whilst MK Dons welcome Oxford.
Team Line Ups:
Shrewsbury Town
31. Sarkic, 17. Love (18), 5. Williams, 24. Ebanks-Landell, 14. Ogbeta, 6. Goss (82), 10. Vela, 8. Norburn, 32. Chapman (83), 20. Main (68) 7. Whalley (82)
Subs: 1. Burgoyne, 3. Golbourne (82), 4. Edwards (83), 9. Pyke (68), 22. Daniels (18), 23. Udoh (82), 28. Davis
Subs Not Used: 1. Burgoyne, 28. Davis
MK Dons
13. Fisher, 15. O’Hora, 6. Darling, 3. Lewington, 12. Laird (64), 17. O’Reilly, 7. Gladwin (58), 16. Surman, 4. Jules (58), 35. Jerome (64), 9. Grigg (58)
Subs: 1. Nicholls, 11. Brown (64), 18. Sorensen (64), 20. Mason (58), 21. Harvie (58), 24. Houghton (58), 36. Johnson
Subs Not Used: 1. Nicholls, 36. Johnson
Other League One Results
AFC Wimbledon 1 – 0 Gillingham
Blackpool P – P Doncaster (waterlogged pitch)
Bristol Rovers 1 – 2 Wigan
Charlton 1 – 2 Burton
Crewe 2 – 0 Accrington
Hull 0 – 1 Ipswich
Lincoln 2 – 2 Swindon
Northampton 0 – 0 Rochdale
Oxford 0 – 1 Portsmouth
Sunderland 2 – 0 Fleetwood
Plymouth 0 – 3 Peterborough
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