Steve Cotterill marks Shrewsbury milestone with victory over Forest Green

Posted Sunday, September 04, 2022 by PA

Experienced Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill celebrated his 100th game in charge with a comfortable 2-0 victory at early-season strugglers Forest Green.

Rekeil Pyke pounced in the 10th minute and Jordan Shipley struck three minutes after the restart to give the Shrews the points.

Pyke capitalised on threadbare Forest Green defending to hand Shrewsbury the lead, finishing comfortably beyond the exposed Luke McGee.

Rovers responded and Armani Little tried to find parity with a speculative strike on the angle and then Kyle McAllister fizzed wide.

In a disrupted opening 20 minutes, Rovers lost captain Jordan Moore-Taylor to a head injury, which also saw keeper McGee receive treatment.

The delay suited Rovers with Brentford loanee Myles Peart-Harris seeing his stab cleared off the line by George Nurse and Regan Hendry lashing wide.

In nine minutes of added time, Little tested Marko Marosi and Dom Bernard arched a ball over.

But Shrewsbury caught Rovers cold minutes after the resumption, Shipley pouncing and firing comfortably past McGee.

Rovers looked for a semblance of hope as Peart-Harris watched Marosi glove his strike over.

Chelsea loanee Bryan Fiabema missed a glorious chance to pull Rovers back into the match with 17 minutes to go, failing to get enough purchase from a McAllister cross as time ran out for Ian Burchnall’s side.