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Shrewsbury Town fall at the last fence With our play-offs amazingly still alive for the last game of the season despite poor away form mid-way through and the talismatic Jemson being out since February Luton Town provided a stern defensive wall that could not be breached despite the massive pressure from Shrewsbury Town in the second half. The 2-0 final scoreline flattered Luton, but Shrewsbury Town were chasing the game at the end as other scores went against them. Shrewsbury lined-up as expected: Dunbavin The opening exchanges provided evidence that we were seeing two good footballing sides. The styles of the two teams were contrasting with Luton resorting more to the long-ball but with Valois providing some guile on the left and Shrewsbury, trying to play a shorter game and playing through Woan or looking to release Rodgers early. The Luton defence looked solid, with the exception of Coyne on the left who gave away an early foul and was booked when Guinan got the better of him. The first chance fell to Shrewsbury from a Woan free-kick, but Emberson in the Luton goal made a fine save. Woan was highly influential in the first half, another free-kick brought a shot from Guinan that was blocked to concede a corner, and from open play his own shot was deflected away for a corner. However neither goalkeeper was tested as much as should have been the case and it was in someway indicative that Luton broke the deadlock with a Rioch own goal as he was trying to cover Crowe following a Heathcote error. Cue the unpleasant spectacle of the away contingent lording it over us for the remaining ten minutes of the first half. In the second half Shrewsbury Town played some terrific attacking football. We have seen this before this season, the Town stepping-up a gear when require to do so. Perhaps any other side would have buckled, but not Luton, an early clearance off the line from a Heathcote header set the tone. Rodgers made room for himself only to flash a shot wide. Uncharacteristically Kevin Ratcliffe made a substitution early on in the second half with Guinan being replaced by Aiston, having played less than ten minutes of the second half. I was not sure about this one, as Guinan seemed to be continuing his excellent link-up play. OK he was not threatening goal as much as his strike partner, but was Aiston likely to change this? On the whole I though this was a mistake. Emberson blocked Ryan Lowe shot with nobody there to pick up the pieces. A misdirected header by Tolley went over the bar, as Rodgers tried to turn provider with a terrific cross. The remaining substitutions were staggered at ten minute intervals, Moss for Rioch and then Murray for Atkins. Special mentions for Woan and Tolley in the second half, both played with skill and determination and when errors occurred Atkins tidied-up. As Town pressured Luton became content to hit us on the break. Redmile sloppiness was recovered by Dunbavin at the cost of a corner. Dunbavin again saved the situation by coming out of his area. With Redmile becoming another forward Luton finished the Town off with a late goal. My individual comments: Dunbavin 8 Excellent performance in goal. Blameless for the goals. He didn have a cross to deal with all game, and I expert at coming out quickly to save low. Thompson 7 Quietly efficient, had a great tussle in the first half with Valois which he won Heathcote 6 At blame for the first goal Rioch 6 Tried to clear the ball but instead smacked it into the net from under the bar. He was unlucky. Defensively he was not as occupied as could have been the case and did not get forward as much as we could have expected. Atkins 7 Captain performance. Kept winding the players up and giving words of advice. This game mattered to Mark and his performance was committed as well as skilled. Tolley 8 Magnificent. Turning defence into attack, Jamie knows where to run to hurt defences, gets his head up and can see early what options are available. Woan 8 He been criticised for being laid back, but not in this game. In the first half most good things came from Woan. In the second half he added a steely edge to his performance. Lowe 6 Had one clear chance, but mostly quiet in and around the penalty box today Guinan 6 Good link-up play in the first half. Rodgers 6 Struggled against a good quality defence. Could he got have more change out of Coyne on the other flank? Seemed to be self-consciously behaving himself. Aiston 6 Early substitute for Guinan. We only saw one Aiston-style as he stepped cold into the cauldron. Moss 6 More attacking than Thompson who was then able to anchor the left side as Woan pushed forward. | |||
