Market Drayton are pushing aside the plaudits heaped upon them after Monday’s superb showing against Shrewsbury Town to concentrate on the business of building a Midland Alliance winning team.
Town have two pre-season games left, against Abberystwyth tomorrow and Nantwich on Tuesday evening, before they begin their league campaign against Oadby, at Greenfields, on August 9.
And with five of his first team squad already ruled out of that league encounter through a mix of injuries,
suspensions and holidays, manager Simon Line is stressing that there’s no time to look back on that Shropshire Senior Cup semi-final at the plush Prostar Stadium.
“I was proud of the way we played, and it’s given the team a real boost, but now it’s back to the nitty gritty work before we start the league,” he said.
“To twice lead Shrewsbury Town on their own ground before losing to a last minute goal was a great achievement – but there are other challenges for us now.”
Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Simpson was full of praise for the way Drayton’s part timers kept his well-paid pros at full stretch throughout.
“We have to give a hell of a lot of credit to Market Drayton,” he said.
“I thought they were excellent on the night and, to be honest, it’s probably a little unfair that they have lost.
“I suppose, in a way if it had gone to penalties, it would have been a moral victory for them.”
The crowd of near 600 mainly Shrewsbury fans who braved the weather in the hope of a goal glut, must have been pretty impressed too.
They got their goals – five crackers – but it’s doubtful if they anticipated them coming in such a pattern.
The first, on 28 minutes, gave warning that it could be a night to remember, Stuart Ellis taking advantage of a botched clearance by keeper Scott Bevan and racing into the area before blasting a shot into the far corner.
Grant Holt, Shrewsbury’s most expensive signing, showed the class and commitment that kept him in the premier bracket for so many seasons when he rattled in the equaliser five minutes before the interval.
He used his strength to get the better of Paul MCMullen – no mean achievement in itself – and then his timing to rap his shot under the body of a diving Andy Pryce.
Oh well, Drayton have done themselves credit was the was the buzz along the terraces at half time; the underdogs have had their day, now Shrewsbury will show them what’s what.
Not a bit of it. Shrewsbury-based Tom Rogers linked with Martyn Davies to open up the defence and there was Ellis again, getting on the end of the move to strike another stunner.
There was at time, a hint of more as Drayton strove to take advantage of a Shrewsbury side clearly a little surprised at having to still battle so hard.
But, hard as they tried, Drayton could never really be sure of their hold on Holt. His clear ability had to show again and it did so dramatically when he hammered another equaliser, this time when Richard Walker nodded on a cross by Peter Murray.
The storm broke at this stage, cutting electricity and forcing a 10 minute delay as cloudbursts lashed the ground.
But the rest revitalised Drayton and battled on brilliantly until, with a penalty shoot out seemingly inevitable, substitute Michael Symes got that extra time winner.
