Shrewsbury Town 1 - 0 Bradford AFC: Freddie Ladapo marks memorable home debut with Shrewsbury winner

Posted Sunday, January 15, 2017 by PA

Freddie Ladapo marked his home debut by scoring the winner just before half-time as lowly Shrewsbury Town beat high-flying Bradford City 1-0.

Shrewsbury started brightly and skipper Adam El-Abd headed an early corner from Joe Riley over the bar before Louis Dodds cleverly cut inside and fired powerfully off target.

Bradford winger Mark Marshall's well-struck shot was pushed away by Jayson Leutwiler but Shrewsbury were always dangerous going forward.

Visiting keeper Colin Doyle pulled off a fine save to keep out a close-range effort from Ladapo after he neatly exchanged passes with Dodds.

But Shrewsbury then broke the deadlock in the 41st minute. Dodds pounced on a slip from former Shrewsbury defender Nat Knight-Percival on the halfway line and, although Doyle did well to save his shot, Crystal Palace loanee Ladapo was on hand to tap in the loose ball.

Marshall and Josh Cullen both came close from free-kicks for Bradford in the second half but the home side defended impressively and were always lively when they broke.

Alex Rodman and Shaun Whalley both fired just over the bar for the hosts before Whalley volleyed an inviting cross from the lively Ladapo wide.