Latics miss the point

Photo: Pictures by ALAN HOWARTH

ATHLETIC defender Cliff Byrne tries to get in a block.

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Shrewsbury 1, Athletic 0

UNINSPIRING Athletic slipped to a 15th defeat of 2012-13 by a one-goal margin in a dull, end-of-season affair.

Though the visitors to Greenhous Meadow had plenty to prove individually — Lee Johnson made eight changes from the starting line-up which saw off Yeovil and Crawley last week — most on show failed to enhance their reputation.

Chiefly through Jose Baxter - who too was ut of sorts - Athletic had chances to take something from a tepid encounter between two teams safe from relegation.

But for the 14th time this campaign, a blank was drawn in front of goal. With no Matt Smith to fight for aimless punts upfield, there was too little for the new strike force of Baxter and hard-working Kirk Millar to feed off.

Shrewsbury went closest to doubling their lead in a second half that was as enjoyable as navigating the countless roundabouts to the Shrews’ utterly soulless new stadium.

Athletic created a small run of pressure for the travelling support towards the end. But save for glimpses of potential from debutant pair Joe Cooper at right-back and Danny Gosset in midfield, most fans will wonder why they bothered when it clearly seemed the players didn’t.

The first half was a bright affair compared to what came after it. Springhead teenager Cooper made his debut while Cliff Byrne — having recovered from his injury — Cisak, Cristian Montano, Baxter, Millar, Bobby Reid and Carl Winchester were all restored.

As Chris Iwelumo watched, Baxter hammered in a 35-yard free-kick which tested Shrews ’keeper Chris Weale’s reflexes. Right before the whistle for the half, Athletic’s scorer-in-chief headed narrowly wide from a right-flank cross by Lee Croft. Prior to that, Millar had a fierce shot beaten away by Shrewsbury’s busy custodian.

An early reshuffle, which saw injured Jonathan Grounds replaced by Robbie Simpson, didn’t aid the cause.

Athletic began the second half sluggishly and after Mvoto had hauled down Tom Bradshaw, former Boundary Park left-back and current Shrews captain Joe Jacobson shaped a 20-yard free-kick over the wall and into the net.

If Johnson expected the strike to shake his team into action, he must have been disappointed. Most of the action was still at Athletic’s end.

Athletic huffed and puffed as Shrewsbury sat back on their lead but couldn’t manage to fashion a clear scoring chance.

They should be warned that there is one more fixture to come (Leyton Orient on Saturday), and an awful lot of players competing for not many contracts in a few months’ time.