Avro suffered their second defeat in a row after a 2-1 loss at The Vestacare Stadium against Shifnal Town, who earned their third win in a row.
It was a poor start for the Ro as the visitors took the lead within the first two minutes of the match. The ball was played into the box from the right-hand side for Sam Fitzgerald, whose shot would initially be saved by Cian O’Shea, but it would bounce back for him to tap it into the net.
Not long after the opener, Shifnal would send a long throw into the box for one of their players to attempt a header, but a heroic save by O’Shea prevented it from going in. The on-loan Stockport County keeper would knock the shot onto the crossbar, keeping the scoreline at 1-0 to Shifnal.
Around the 40th-minute mark, Avro fired the ball into the box for number nine, Kyle Hawley, who turned with the ball and smashed it into the back of the net from within the six-yard box to find the equaliser.
After the break and heading into the 60th minute, Shifnal Town would find themselves with a chance to take the lead as the ball was played into the far left side of the box for their towering defender, Jack Rowley. However, despite being a yard away from the net, his header would fly over the bar and out for a goal kick. It was a miracle for Avro.
A few minutes after that miss by Shifnal, the Ro found themselves with a chance to take the lead as Howley pressured the visitors’ defence into giving up the ball. Eventually, after a few passes, the ball would land at the feet of Salt, who, with his first touch, smashed it towards the net, but his shot would go over the bar, wasting the chance.
With ten minutes left of the match, a corner from the right led to a scramble in the box, and Harry Barlow took advantage of this as he slotted the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 2-1 for Shifnal.
Despite Avro piling the pressure on Shifnal’s back line late on, it was not enough to find an equaliser, meaning the visitors secured the three points this afternoon.
The Ro now look ahead to their next fixture on bank holiday Monday as they face Mossley AFC at Seel Park.
Lineups:
Avro – O’Shea, Warburton (68” Djankpata), Fitzpatrick, Kenny, Maphosa, Morrow (81” Hickman), Salt, Davidson, Hawley, Gairns (45” Smalley), Owen (63” Igwenwanne)
Subs not Used – Iwobi
Shifnal Town – Wycherley, Green, Elsdon, Rowley, Bradford, Bennett, Loughran, Jarman, Fitzgerald (60” Leachman), Fishman (60” Hodnett), Alamu-Tajudeen (75” Bower)
Subs not Used – Brown, May
Written by – Ross Lunt
