Shrewsbury Town secured a hard-fought 1–0 win over Notts County - making it three wins within a week for Gavin Cowan’s men.

Town showed strong defensive discipline throughout the 90 minutes, staying organised and resilient under pressure. 

The decisive moment came in the 54th minute, when Taylor Perry fired a superb finish into the top-right corner to settle the contest.

Team news:

Cowan opted to keep faith with the team that put in such an impressive display against Swindon when naming his starting line-up.

It saw Matt Cox start in net with Luca Hoole, Josh Ruffels and Will Boyle making up the back three.

Ismael Kabia remained at right-wing back, partnered with Kevin Berkoe on the left.

Tom Sang and Taylor Perry sat in midfield with Anthony Scully further forward in the 10 role.

George Lloyd and Iwan Morgan started up front.

Notts County boss Martin Paterson opted for a 3-4-2-1 formation with Matthew Dennis leading their attack.

Match report:

The opening chance fell to Shrewsbury Town when George Lloyd dribbled into shooting range and curled an effort narrowly wide of the post just minutes after kick-off.

Moments later, Matthew Cox was called into action, parrying Lewis Macari’s close-range header to safety following Salop’s early pressure.

After 15 minutes, Kevin Berkoe sparked a dangerous counter-attack from a Notts County corner, bursting down the wing before beating his marker. 

His teasing cross found Iwan Morgan, whose initial shot was blocked back into Berkoe, but the wing-back's follow-up flew over the bar.

At the half-hour mark, County earned a free-kick just outside the Shrewsbury area. 

Jodi Jones stepped up, but his curling effort was smartly gathered by Cox - with the keeper doing really well to hold on to the ball with players ready to pounce.

Despite enjoying the majority of possession in the first half, County struggled to carve out any clear-cut opportunities against Salop’s well-organised defence.

Five minutes after the restart, Tom Sang delivered an inch-perfect corner onto the head of Josh Ruffles, but his effort was superbly turned away by a huge save from James Belshaw.

Shrewsbury maintained their momentum, and their energy was rewarded just four minutes later. Iwan Morgan launched a long throw into the penalty area, and after an initial clearance from Notts County, Taylor Perry met the ball sweetly, firing into the top-right corner to give Shrewsbury Town the lead.

Moments later, Town almost doubled their advantage. Morgan surged down the left and attempted to curl an effort into the bottom corner, but once again Belshaw was on hand to deny the hosts.

For the next 25 minutes, the visitors applied heavy pressure, but Cowan’s men defended superbly, limiting County to only a handful of half-chances.

After a huge defensive effort, Shrewsbury Town held firm to seal a deserved victory.

Town now turn their attention to an away trip to Accrington Stanley, where they will be hoping to keep their winning streak alive. 

Teams: 

Shrewsbury: Cox (GK), Hoole, Boyle, Ruffels, Kabia, Berkoe, Sang, Perry, Scully, Lloyd, Morgan, McDermott, Ogunsuyi, Freeman, Benning

Substitutes not used: Brook (GK), Anderson, Stubbs

Notts County: Belshaw (GK), Macari, Platt, Bedeau, Tsaroulla, Norburn, Tangen, Jones, Iorpenda, Grant, Dennis, Ndlovu, Maziar Kouhyar, Enoru, Hall, Hinchy

Substitutes not used: Griffiths (GK), McDonald

Attendance:

Home: 5,622        Away: 932

Total: 6,554