Shrewsbury Town are unable to protect their lead as a former loanee cancelled out a goal from a current one.
Sam Cosgrove’s second for the club since joining on loan from Birmingham City had put Steve Cotterill’s side in the ascendency.
But Shrewsbury’s penchant for conceding goals against former players was on display once more when Mickael Mandron netted on the stroke of half time.
Both sides had ten minutes of injury time to conjure up a winner, but they ended up having to share the spoils.
Steve Cotterill made two changes from the side that lost 1-0 against Accrington last time out. Shaun Whalley and David Davis were drafted in at the expense of George Nurse and Dan Udoh. There was no place in the squad for Leicester City loanee Leshebela.
David Artell’s side almost made a storming start to proceedings inside two minutes. Tottenham loanee J’Neil Bennett crossed for another Crewe debutant Scott Kashket whose effort was pushed to safety by Town keeper Marko Marosi. Then, scrappy Shrewsbury defending from a Crewe corner allowed Donavan Daniels to seize control, however, the defender lashed over from inside the box.
Crewe were rampant in a dominant 12-minute spell. Full-back Kayne Ramsay is a familiar name to Town fans having made a handful of appearances for the club in 2020 and the Southampton loanee was looking for his first senior goal. He strode forward with his low shot initially spilled by Marosi but gathered at the second attempt.
Shrewsbury may have been lacklustre in the opening period of the game, but it was they who drew first blood. Josh Vela’s intricate through ball was pounced upon by Shaun Whalley – the winger reached the byline line and delivered an accurate cross for Sam Cosgrove to smuggle home.
The visitors responded well to going behind. J’Neil Bennett was in acres of space as he cut inside and fired goalward – Marosi did just enough to keep Town ahead. Town’s Bennett also had a pop at goal, but Will Jaaskelainen, the son of former West Ham and Bolton stopper Jussi, was equal to the effort.
With the first half drawing to a close, Crewe found a deserved leveller. Mikael Mandron received possession inside the box and produced a clinical finish into the far corner of the net.
The second period took around ten minutes to get going. Terell Thomas was lurking inside the danger area but couldn’t profit from Scott Robertson’s dangerous delivery. A series of bookings disrupted the flow of the game and Scott Robertson’s lengthy treatment contributed to excessive stoppage time.
When play resumed, the visitors should have taken the lead. Sam Cosgrove relinquished possession far too easily and Mandron burst forward. The former Sunderland striker fed J’Neil Bennett who with the goal at his mercy could only smash well over. Mandron was in the mood and the Frenchmen engineered himself some room but crashed a half-volley into the side netting from a tight angle.
Town were dealing with wave after wave of Crewe attacks. Marko Marosi got down well to snuff out Scott Kashket – the ball was recycled back into the danger area and Mandron’s header missed the target.
Will Jaaskelainen could be forgiven for losing his concentration with very little to do, but the Finland U21 international produced a vital stop. Ryan Bowman attacked Shaun Whalley’s free-kick and Jaaskelainen produced a brilliant reactive save.
Shrewsbury had calls for a penalty turned down when Matthew Pennington hit the deck, despite ferocious appeals the referee waved play on.
Added time was set to go into double figures as both sides tried to find the winner. Mikal Mandron was inches away with his shot, whilst had Shaun Whalley looked up and saw Ryan Bowman in space then the former Exeter man may have won it for his side.
Instead, Shrewsbury had to settle for a point which they may take having been under the cosh for the majority of the contest. They face Sheffield Wednesday next weekend, whilst Crewe welcome Burton.
Attendance: 5,867 (1,071 away fans)
Team Line Ups
Shrewsbury Town
1. Marosi, 5. Pennington, 4. Ebanks-Landell, 6. Pierre (76), 17. Bennett, 10. Vela, 16. Davis, 3. Leahy, 18. Bloxham (64), 9. Cosgrove (71), 7. Whalley
Subs: 11. Udoh (64), 12. Bowman (71), 14. Ogbeta, 15. Pyke, 21. Gregory, 22. Daniels, 23. Nurse (76)
Subs Not Used: 14. Ogbeta, 15. Pyke. 21. Gregory, 22. Daniels
Crewe
1. Jaaskelainen, 6. Offord, 21. Daniels, 5. Thomas, 2. Ramsay, 35. Robertson, 6. Murphy, 3. Adebisi (94), 36. Kashket (86), 12. Mandron, 37. Bennett (94)
Subs: 9. Porter (86), 11. Ainley, 14. Finney (94), 15. McFadzean (94), 20. Lundstrum, 22. Sass-Davies, 31. Richards
Subs Not Used: 11. Ainley, 20. Lundstrum, 22. Sass-Davies, 31. Richards
Other League One Results
Burton 1 – 1 Gillingham
Cambridge 1 – 5 Lincoln
Charlton 1 – 2 Cheltenham
Ipswich 2 – 5 Bolton
MK Dons 1 – 0 Portsmouth
Morecambe 3 – 4 AFC Wimbledon
Oxford 0 – 0 Wycombe
Plymouth 3 – 0 Sheffield Wednesday
Rotherham 2 – 4 Fleetwood
Sunderland 2 – 1 Accrington
Wigan 2 – 1 Doncaster
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