From the Archive | Boxing Day Delight

While our paths have not crossed so much in recent years, Shrewsbury and Wolves have a long and storied history, especially throughout the 1980s.

When the two clubs met at the Gay Meadow on Boxing Day 1984, things looked very different for both teams.  

We were competing in the second division, which is now the Championship. Wolves, at the time, were deep in a relegation battle, sitting 18th in the table, and arrived in Shropshire having lost their last five games.  

Salop were having a much different experience, hitting a mid-season purple patch under Chic Bates, and were looking to secure a fifth consecutive win in front of 9,183 fans on the banks of the River Severn.  

Despite the form of both teams, the first half was a tense affair, with neither side testing the opposition keeper too much. A moment of magic from Town in the 44th minute would send them into the dressing rooms a goal to the good. Manager Chic Bates played a delightful cross across the box, allowing Colin Robinson to knock the ball past Tim Flowers.  

The visitors looked reenergised early in the second half after a tough half-time talk from Tommy Docherty. They were rewarded for their efforts in the 56th minute, with Alan Ainscow smashing past Steve Perks to level the score.  

But Salop had too much in the tank for our Midlands rivals, though, and they punished Wolves' confusion in the box following a Ross MacLaren free-kick, with Bernard McNally firing home the winner in the 78th minute, sparking scenes of celebration around an ice-cold Gay Meadow.  

Wolves’ season would go from bad to worse after this, with the team relegated to the third division at the end of the season. Salop, on the other hand, would go on to finish 8th in the league, the second-highest finish in the club’s history.