My first season with Shrewsbury Town has almost come to its end. In just four, six or even seven matches’ time, we will know whether we’ll be remaining in League One, or leaving that division for the Championship.
Thanks to Angoal’s firepower, Charlie’s creativity, and Brendan’s… ahem… brilliance at the back, a ticket to the League One play-offs is within our reach. However, there’s still a chance that we can go up automatically, without having to take the more scenic (and perhaps lucrative) route.
If you haven’t caught up on Part 6 yet, please have a read of that first. For the rest of us, let’s get into the run-in without any further delay!
THE RUN-IN
With Barnsley already promoted from League One, the race was well and truly on to join them in the Championship. Realistically, three teams had a chance of finishing 2nd, and thus avoiding the play-offs.
Burton were six points clear of both Scunthorpe and Shrewsbury, though their run-in was not the easiest. If they slipped up, there was a good chance for either us or Scunny to take advantage, as long as we won our remaining games.
Our final set of four fixtures was arguably the toughest. The obvious nightmare trip to Oakwell aside, we still had to host two fellow play-off contenders either side of an away game against a Coventry side scrapping for survival. As such, I would not necessarily be aiming for automatic promotion.
We went into the final fixtures sitting seven points ahead of 7th-placed Charlton, who were breathing down the necks of Oxford and Peterborough in the top six. Two more victories – or a win and three draws – would be enough for us to book a play-off spot. Indeed, if those three teams all dropped points, our task would be made even simpler.
BARNSLEY vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 43)
First up for us was that aforementioned outing in South Yorkshire. Barnsley had secured an instant return to the second tier, and had it not been for a run of four consecutive draws, they would surely have wrapped up the League One title already. One more victory would indeed deliver them their first league championship of any description since the 1950s.
Most teams in this division had found Daniel Stendel’s Tykes to be more like Rottweilers. I was feeling the same way just seven minutes into what proved to be an inaptly-named Good Friday fixture at Oakwell. Shortly after team-mate Jonathan Leko struck the post, Cauley Woodrow went one better, tapping in a low cross from Brad Potts to send the home fans wild.
Though Fejiri Okenabirhie struck the woodwork himself in the 16th minute, that proved to be a rare Shrewsbury chance in a half dominated by Barnsley. Their incisive attacking game yielded a second goal five minutes from half-time. Woodrow outpaced Shrews captain Omar Beckles to reach a cross from Dani Pinillos and fire in his 30th goal of the campaign! He’d scored 15 goals while on loan from Fulham, and 15 since making that move permanent in January.
We started to relax a bit more after falling 2-0 behind, and we grabbed one goal back just before the break. Alex Gilliead‘s impressive season on the right wing continued with a deft square ball to Aaron Amadi-Holloway, who gave us hope of mounting a second-half fightback.
Those hopes wouldn’t last very long. We created a couple of equalising opportunities for Okenabirhie, but he was twice thwarted by Barnsley keeper Adam Davies. The hosts then started to Tyke control again, with only some great stoppages from our goalie Joel Coleman denying Woodrow what would’ve been a deserved hat-trick. In the end, we did very well to restrict the soon-to-be-crowned League One champions to ‘only’ a 2-1 win.
Thankfully, that result wasn’t too disastrous for our hopes of retaining a play-off place. That was because 7th-placed Charlton had been soundly beaten 4-1 at Oxford. We therefore only needed one more victory – rather than two – to secure a top-six finish. With everybody pulling together in the same direction, I was feeling confident.
Now that’s a pyramid of dreams. It takes some going to receive your team’s unanimous support as an established manager, let alone someone who’s in their first season at the helm. Even our new centre-halves James Collins and Kyle Howkins had wasted little time in giving me their backing.
There were similar positive signs when I looked at our social groups. Instead of splitting themselves up into a load of small cliques, the players were in two relatively large social groups. To be fair, the vast majority of them had ‘Balanced’ personalities and had been at the club for only a couple of seasons at most.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs OXFORD UNITED (League One, Match 44)
Oxford’s victory over Charlton meant they had the chance to leapfrog us into the top four if they won at New Meadow on Easter Monday. Defeat would potentially send us down to 6th place if Peterborough won their home fixture against Sunderland. Everything was set up nicely for a thrilling encounter, which doubled up as a dress rehearsal for a potential play-off tie…
…or perhaps this would be a slog. It sure felt like one for our top scorer Lee Angol, who hadn’t found the net from open play since February. He curled a long-range shot inches wide in the ninth minute, and then went close again from a free-kick three minutes later. A long ball from returning left-back Brendan Galloway gave Lee an even more inviting opening after 18 minutes, but Jonathan Mitchell’s excellent fingertip save kept him frustratingly at bay.
Oxford had their fair share of chances late in the first half, with midfielder Samir Carruthers twice forcing saves out of Coleman. Carruthers was at least more of a threat to Coleman’s goal than one-time Sweden forward Denni Avdic, who missed the target THREE times from inside the box after the interval.
Strong defensive performances from Galloway and Howkins helped shut out a U’s side who perhaps lacked the firepower of other play-off contenders. However, it was United’s central defender and vice-captain John Mousinho who made off with the ‘man of the match’ award after a forgettable goalless draw.
Once again, though, results had conspired to help us. Peterborough stayed 6th after losing 4-2 to Sunderland. Charlton slipped up again, taking a 6-1 home beating from a rampant Scunthorpe side who secured their play-off berth. The Addicks dropped down to 9th, with Luton and Walsall both going above them in the standings.
And what did that mean for us?
It meant we were more or less in the play-offs. One more point against either Coventry or Walsall would make that absolutely certain. Even if we did stumble and Luton won their last two matches, they would need at least a 16-goal swing to knock us out of the top six. I somehow couldn’t see that happening.
COVENTRY CITY vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 45)
Our last away game of the regular season was at the Ricoh Arena, where Coventry were desperately trying to avoid an immediate return to League Two. Ball-winning midfielder Abu Ogogo and centre-half Tom Davies each came reasonably close to getting the Sky Blues off to a strong start in a match they could hardly afford to lose.
Indeed, Davies would score after half an hour. Unfortunately for him, it was into his own net that he deflected a shot from Shrews counterpart Beckles, whose header had just been parried by goalie Lee Burge. I’d actually had the former Portsmouth defender on my shortlist and briefly considered making a move for him when he was transfer-listed in January. After that own goal, I was quite glad I didn’t!
Coventry rebounded four minutes into the break, thanks to their pair of on-loan Chelsea teenagers. Their equalising move began when right-back Dujon Sterling threw the ball to midfielder and fellow England youth international George McEachran. The Under-17 World Cup winner then dribbled past Shrews counterpart (and Blues club-mate) Charlie Colkett before smacking in his first senior goal from the edge of the box.
Angol almost put us back ahead on 65 minutes, striking the post after Ollie Norburn‘s free-kick resulted in a scramble in the Coventry box. But while Lee’s luck was still out, Fejiri’s fortune was very much in five minutes later. A Shrews counter-attack was in full flow when Gilliead found a wide-open Okenabirhie on the edge of the box. The Nigerian forward burst forward and then cut in a wondrous finish that put us safely into the play-offs!
A 2-1 home loss didn’t yet spell relegation for Coventry, but their fate would be out of their hands on the final day, when either they or Rochdale would join Gillingham, Blackpool and Doncaster in League Two.
Just what we deserved. We moved into the top six in just the second week of the season, and we had stayed there throughout. After last year’s heartbreak, the Shrews would get a well-earned shot at redemption.
Burton secured 2nd place with a game to spare, though Scunthorpe – their last rivals for automatic promotion – were now guaranteed home advantage in the second leg of their Play-Off Semi Final. We would have the same if we could finish off the regular season by beating Walsall to stave off 5th-placed Oxford. Peterborough were hot favourites to claim the final play-off spot ahead of Luton.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs WALSALL (League One, Match 46)
Our final regular-season game was a rematch of October’s thrilling West Midlands derby at the Bescot Stadium, in which Walsall came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2. The Saddlers were slap-bang in mid-table and had little to play for, so this meeting at New Meadow was unlikely to be quite as dramatic.
Captain Mat Sadler came back into the Shrews defence, leading us for what would be the last time. In midfield was 19-year-old Ryan Barnett, who made his first league start. He would enjoy the best part of 75 minutes of action before making way for a 17-year-old debutant in youth-team midfielder Ryan Grosvenor.
We took the lead through a Colkett free-kick after 27 minutes. Charlie’s 14th assist of the season came when Gilliead headed his delivery past Liam Roberts, claiming a 13th goal of an outstanding debut campaign with Salop.
Though Walsall midfielder Connor Ronan hit the post just before half-time, the visitors would not come particularly close to ruining Coleman’s clean sheet. Joel was protected by a surprisingly rock-solid Shrews defence, with Mat in particular showing that there was still a little life left in the old dog.
We would complete a comfortable 2-0 win in stoppage time, thanks to yet another Colkett assist. This time, the recipient of his right-wing cross was Amadi-Holloway, who headed in his ninth – and final – goal of the season. Aaron had pulled some knee ligaments earlier in proceedings and thus could not play any part in our play-off campaign. Shame.
We finished the season in 4th place – just behind Scunthorpe, who were 2-1 winners at Plymouth. A late winner at Luton secured 5th position for Oxford, who would consequently face us in the Play-Off Semi Finals. That result also ended Luton’s hopes of leapfrogging Peterborough, who could look forward to taking on Scunthorpe for a place at Wembley.
The final relegation place was taken up by Rochdale. They were consigned to League Two by a combination of their 3-0 away loss against Charlton, and Coventry’s spirited 2-0 victory at Doncaster, which spared the Sky Blues.
With the regular season done and dusted, attention now turned towards the play-offs. Fans loved them, Sky loved them, managers secretly hated them, but there was one thing everyone could agree on: nothing else had the drama they would serve up every May.
Of the 14 Shrewsbury players who took part in last season’s Play-Off Final defeat to Rotherham, only five were still playing for the club. Defenders Sadler, Beckles and James Bolton, winger Shaun Whalley, and forward Lenell John-Lewis were potentially 180 minutes away from booking a return to Wembley. They just needed to exact revenge on a tenacious Oxford side who’d already taken four points off us this term. It wouldn’t be easy.
OXFORD UNITED vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Play-Off Semi Final – Leg 1)
Though Oxford finished a spot below us, I made them marginal favourites to win this tie. Karl Robinson’s U’s had suffered just one defeat in their last 12 matches, keeping eight clean sheets in the process. Their record at the Kassam Stadium wasn’t the best, but if we could keep the scoreline close or even steal a result, then maybe I would be more confident ahead of the second leg.
As expected, it was Oxford who launched the opening attacks of this tie. Avdic’s first-minute header from a cross by right-winger Gavin Whyte was caught by Coleman, who then watched attacking midfielder Marcus Browne send a shot wide. At the other end, Coleman’s counterpart Mitchell diverted behind our first shot on target from Okenabirhie.
Our last visit to the Kassam was decided by an own goal from our left-back. History would sadly repeat it in the 34th minute, but while Ryan Haynes‘ OG in October was genuinely unlucky, Galloway’s here was down to utter stupidity. Brendan hoovered up a long ball from U’s skipper Shandon Baptiste and then tried to play it back to Coleman. Much to Joel’s horror, the back-pass was horribly overhit and nestled into the far end of his net!
That farcical own goal gave Oxford a 1-0 half-time lead, not to mention significant momentum. As they continued to attack us in the second half, it seemed only a matter of time before they went 2-0 up. Another fantastic Mitchell save from Okenabirhie after an hour lended further credence to my belief that this would not be our evening.
By the 70th minute, we were very much at panic stations. Oxford left-back Luke Garbutt slipped the ball into our area for ex-Aston Villa playmaker Carruthers, who stepped past Norburn and drove in an excellent finish. We were now staring at the very real prospect of a defeat by more than one goal for the first time since December.
I brought on three substitutes after 77 minutes in a late push for a consolation goal, which one of them duly got just a couple of minutes later. Gnahoua’s through-ball didn’t quite fall to John-Lewis, who was brilliantly dispossessed by United defender Curtis Nelson. However, the tackle diverted the ball on to substitute winger Whalley, who calmly cut it past Mitchell to reduce the arrears to 2-1.
Gnahoua looked to complete the fightback two minutes from time. After his initial shot came back to him off Mousinho, the rebound was fired into the grateful hands of Mitchell. Oxford thus held on for a narrow first-leg win, but the spirit we’d shown late on suggested that the tie was still up for grabs.
Okay, that wasn’t a disaster. A 2-1 deficit could easily be clawed back if we put in another of our typical strong performances at New Meadow, where only Barnsley had beaten us in a meaningful competition all season.
We had four days to try and put things right on the training ground, and then it was do or die. Would our season end here, or could we continue dreaming of promotion for another match?
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs OXFORD UNITED (League One, Play-Off Semi Final – Leg 2)
I made five changes to my starting XI for the must-win second leg, including three in defence. After his Kassam calamity, Galloway was dropped to the bench, with Haynes taking his place at left-back. I also reinstated Angol up front, even though he was without a goal from open play for three months, and without an assist all season. One of those statistics would soon change.
Just 40 seconds after kick-off, Angol used his pace to glide through the Oxford defence and latch onto a lofted pass from Greg Docherty. He was forced into too tight an angle to shoot, so he instead cut the ball across to the advancing Gilliead, who drove in a very early opener! Our first-leg deficit had already been negated!
Docherty and Angol linked up well again in the fifth minute, though Lee half-volleyed Greg’s long ball over the bar. We wouldn’t again go particularly close to scoring until just before half-time, when Angol and Gilliead each had shots kept out by Oxford goalkeeper Simon Eastwood.
Oxford had their best spell of the opening period at around the half-hour mark. In the 29th minute, Garbutt’s hanging-ball corner was met by Avdic’s head, but Coleman held onto it well. Two minutes later, a free-kick from winger Rob Hall found centre-half Tom Broadbent, whose header skimmed the bar.
The second half was a somewhat quiet affair, with neither team willing to take many risks lest they backfired. U’s frontman Sam Smith got things up and running again in the 70th minute, with his header forcing Coleman into a save. That was followed nine minutes later by a narrow Shrewsbury miss from Colkett, who curled a shot inches wide from distance.
With the aggregate scores level at 2-2 after 90 minutes, extra-time beckoned. Oxford had the best chances of the first additional half, with substitute playmaker Carruthers looking most likely to score. Smith did find the net in the 103rd minute, but his marker Beckles saved us by cleverly leaving the striker offside when Nelson crossed to him from the left.
Our relief would only last until the 108th minute. Three minutes after the break, a careless long kick from Coleman was intercepted by U’s right-back Cameron Norman. The ball was flicked on to Whyte, who laid it off to Carruthers before the Irishman dribbled at our defence and lashed in a fierce shot from our ‘D’. Now it was 1-1 on the night, but Oxford led 3-2 on aggregate.
The post denied Okenabirhie an equaliser in the 110th minute, and he would have to wait until the 120th for a chance at redemption. As we went all out in a bid to take the game to penalties, Howkins hoisted a direct ball to Fejiri on the left wing. The Nigerian took some time to control the ball before whipping it into the box, where who should volley it home but Lee Angol!
Just when his club needed him most, Lee had returned to form with his 24th Angoal of the season! New Meadow erupted in a chorus of cheers, and this Play-Off Semi Final was seemingly heading for a shoot-out.
BUT NO! Barely a minute later, as the match entered extra-extra-time, Oxford summoned the energy to launch one final attack. Hall centred the ball from out deep, evading our defenders as three yellow shirts raced for it. The victor was the explosive Northern Ireland winger Gavin Whyte, who lost his marker Haynes and slammed in the winner in front of an ecstatic away end.
It finished 2-2 on the night, and 4-3 to Oxford on aggregate. They would progress to Wembley to face Scunthorpe, who’d demolished Peterborough 4-1 at Glanford Park to prevail 5-3 on aggregate.
REFLECTIONS
Wow. What else can you say? We’d gone from agony to ecstasy and back in only a matter of moments.
One crumb of comfort was that this was a collective team failure, rather than being down to an obvious individual error. We’d not created enough decent openings in the initial 90 minutes, and then we all got caught up in the heat of the moment after Angol’s late injury-time leveller. If I’d reined the defenders in straight away and instructed them to sit deeper, maybe we would’ve held on for penalties, but then nobody could’ve predicted how that would’ve panned out.
Last-minute winners and equalisers really have been the bane of our season. It’s perhaps not hyperbolic to suggest we could’ve gone up automatically had my players and I held our nerves more convincingly in those closing moments. As Alanis Morissette once put it, “You cry, you learn; you lose, you learn.”
I’d like to think I now have a better idea of what it would take for us to get promoted – if not next season, then perhaps the one after that. We need players who have the stamina to go through 90 minutes without dropping out. We need more defenders with good composure and concentration. There also needs to be more determination and spirit shown within the squad, as too many of our current line-up flinch when the chips are down.
I will also have to appoint a new captain. Having been informed that he was being released, Sadler decided that – at the age of 34 – it was now time for him to hang up his boots. 45-year-old backup goalkeeper Danny Coyne has also ended his playing career for good to fully concentrate on his coaching duties. With Coleman returning to his parent club Huddersfield, that means at least two custodians will be on my shopping list.
As you can perhaps tell already, this coming transfer window will be another busy one at Shrewsbury. You won’t see a repeat of the manic Henry VIII-style chopping and changing of last summer, but I’m predicting right now that there’ll be at least eight new faces when pre-season begins.
We probably don’t need a new striker, even though Angol started the season like Michael Owen and finished it like Michael Ricketts. Having led the Golden Boot race for much of the season, he was overtaken in March by Woodrow and the eventual winner – Wimbledon’s Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.
24 goals was still a very impressive haul for Lee, considering his previous best in the EFL was 11 – for Peterborough in 2015/2016. Here’s hoping he doesn’t turn into a mere one-season wonder for us, and instead emerges as a true Shrews icon.
Taking Salop up to 4th after being predicted to finish in mid-table could have earned me League One’s Manager of the Year award… had Paul Hurst not done something similar 12 months earlier. That honour instead went to Robinson, who led Oxford to a thrilling 3-2 win over Scunthorpe in the Play-Off Final, securing them a surprise promotion to the Championship. Fair do’s, Karl.
And so there you have it. Yet more play-off pain for Shrewsbury, and another major rebuild awaits. With expectations growing, could 2019/2020 be the season when we finally secure promotion to the Championship, or could it be when it all falls apart at the seams?
Look out later this week for a Season Review, which will summarise our campaign and outline my summer transfer plans. The story proper will resume next week, with the start of Season 2. As always, you can keep updated when new posts go live by either hitting the ‘Follow Fuller FM’ button or by following me on Twitter @Fuller_FM.
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