Ollie Westbury analysis: No points for style – but it’s three big ones for a win
It was not a game for the purist, but you will not find a Shrewsbury fan who cares.
There were 33 games on Saturday across the EFL, and you would wager that most of them were better spectacles than what was on display at Vale Park at the weekend.
But over the course of a season, there are certain games where the performance is largely irrelevant – the most important thing is what the final score is when the referee blows the full-time whistle.
Well, for Town, it was one of those games on Saturday as they played Port Vale in a relegation six-pointer.
Going into it, all that mattered was winning – and they did just that.
Failure to do so would have been unthinkable.
It wasn’t a vintage display. In fact, Town’s best move was the last clear-cut chance in the whole game when they worked it out wide to Jordan Shipley, who lashed it wide.
Aside from that, it was the kind of performance you need when you are in a relegation battle.
Full of resilience, battling qualities and the smart use of set-pieces, which Town used to brilliant effect.
