Shrewsbury Town stunned title favourites Birmingham City to hand new boss Gareth Ainsworth a win on his first match in the Salop dugout, ending a run of six defeats in a row.
The defeat sees Birmingham go a third league match without a win and drop to fourth.
First Half Action
The home side, who had only scored once in their previous five matches, opened the scoring after half an hour when a ball into the box from the Salop right was headed back by Tom Bloxham onto the left foot Aaron Pierre who rifled home from inside the six-yard box.
The lead was doubled seven minutes later when Leo Castledine rolled a ball across the box and John Marquis received a lucky bounce off keeper Ryan Allsop and tapped the loose ball into the net.
Just before halftime, Birmingham got themselves back into the game through Tomoki Iwata’s well-struck left-footed drive from the edge of the box following good work down the right from Ethan Laird.
Second Half
Leading 2-1 at the break, the Shrews were unlucky not to double their lead when Marquis bent a shot from the edge of the box only to see it glance the bar, having beaten Allsop.
It was three after 55 minutes when Marquis latched onto a long ball before rolling it into the path of Bloxham who slid in to bundle the ball home.
Blues were awarded a penalty when a Lyndon Dykes strike was blocked by an arm. Record signing Jay Stansfield stepped up and smashed the ball down the middle to give the visitors hope of a comeback.
City couldn’t find a third goal and left Shropshire empty-handed, leaving Ainsworth to celebrate a vital three points for his new side.
Ainsworth Delighted With Commitment
The new manager was delighted with what his new team gave him.
“To a man, the commitment that they showed today was sensational, it really was.”
“The result is almost a by-product of what we gave out there. The boys deserved the win.”
Writer’s View
This is a huge win that those around Shrewsbury in the table would not have expected and they move to within five points of safety.
For Birmingham, it is another game without a win and their players may be starting to feel the pressure of being the biggest team in the league.
