Matt Taylor salutes injury-hit Shrewsbury for ‘putting their bodies on the line’

Posted Saturday, December 02, 2023 by PA

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor praised his side for overcoming their injury crisis to reach the third round of the FA Cup with a 3-2 win over Notts County.

Ryan Bowman’s hat-trick sealed victory as the striker opened the scoring in the first minute and, following Richard Brindley’s equaliser, netted twice more in the second half before James Sanderson’s late consolation.

“I think what sums up the evening and the week we have had for me is the players celebrating with all of the supporters,” Taylor said.

“The supporters have seen how hard they worked, but what they’ve done again is put their bodies on the line. Elliott Bennett is playing with eight stitches and you must look at the state of the squad – their effort and application was fantastic.

“We got beaten 4-0 at Blackpool and I questioned the players a lot and in the space of seven days we have picked up four points in the league and are through to the next round of the FA Cup, all with 11 injuries, and that is the reality. We have left 11 first-team players in the treatment room today.

“I’m really pleased because 674 Shrewsbury fans have travelled and it’s cold, it’s a lot of money to get here and to share that moment with the players is what this football club is all about.”

County’s defenders endured a night to forget and boss Luke Williams was unimpressed in the manner of all three goals his side conceded.

“I’m disappointed, very disappointed,” he said.

“It’s not a disgrace to concede goals against a really good team, but the manner in which we concede those goals is the problem. To lose 3-2 in the cup leaves me with a really horrible feeling.”

There was, though, a moment to remember for young academy star Sanderson, who made his professional debut the day after his 17th birthday and scored with almost his first touch of the game with a fine finish from just outside the area.

Williams has high hopes for him but wants him to keep his feet on the ground.

He said: “He came to train with the first team straight and we saw straight away that he has a few traits like a senior player – more than you would expect from a young guy.

“He took the goal brilliantly, but then I realised he had his socks low like as if he was a £100million player like Jack Grealish, so we had a quick conversation about that one. But I am really impressed with him and we need make sure that he remember that he’s still got a long way to go.”