Match ends, Cheltenham Town 0, Shrewsbury Town 1.
CheltenhamCheltenham Town0ShrewsburyShrewsbury Town1
Shrewsbury Town secured promotion to League One with a hard-fought victory at Cheltenham, who were relegated to the Conference as a result.
Jean Louis Akpa-Akpro brought down Mark Ellis's long ball inside the box to score the only goal of the game on 20 minutes with a deflected shot.
Goalkeeper Trevor Carson came close to equalising with a long clearance which almost caught out Jayson Leutwiler.
Cheltenham had a shot cleared off the line as they applied heavy pressure.
| From the top to the bottom for Cheltenham |
|---|
| Cheltenham Town were a point clear at the top of the division after six games this season. But they go down, on the same day as Tranmere Rovers, having won just one of their last 12 fixtures in League Two. |
But Shrewsbury clung on to confirm promotion back to the third tier of English football at the first time of asking, having suffered relegation almost a year ago to the day.
Micky Mellon's side have been in prolific form in League Two, leading the division's scoring charts in the former Fleetwood manager's first season in charge.
Following Hartlepool's win against Exeter, which sealed their fate, Cheltenham return to the Conference 16 years on from being promoted to the Football League for the first time in 1999.
Shrewsbury manager Micky Mellon told BBC Radio Shropshire:
"It's been a really memorable day. This will stay in our memories for a very long time. You always have nervy moments but we do our best to disguise it.
"I knew how desperate our boys were to finally get over that line and we didn't want to just do it with a draw or scrape through.
"We wanted to do it with a victory and we can go into next week's home game trying to give it our best shot at winning the title.
"We all know how much Jean Louis Akpa-Akpro means to us and for him to get the goal is brilliant for him, but I'm delighted for the whole club."
Cheltenham boss Gary Johnson told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:
"Unfortunately the losers are less than professional sometimes. That's generally why a team gets relegated.
"There's a fitness level that professionals have to maintain. They have to live like professionals and act like professionals, and some of them found it very hard to do that.
"Hopefully the club's strong enough to come back quickly because it's got a good academy and it's got some good youngsters that wouldn't be ready this year but I'm sure will be ready next year.
"I hope to give the board of directors and the staff a good run down of how I've seen things. That's just what I've done with the players as well, and we'll see what happens after that."
Line-ups
Cheltenham
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Carson
- 25Berry
- 15Deaman
- 5Brown
- 3Braham-Barrett
- 10Burns
- 24Sparrow
- 8Richards
- 17Kotwica
- 29HarradBooked at 32minsSubstituted forHanksat 68'minutes
- 39MansetSubstituted forSterling-Jamesat 61'minutes
Substitutes
- 12Gould
- 16Hanks
- 19Sterling-James
- 21Williams
- 22Dale
- 23Bowen
- 27Lawrence
Shrewsbury
Formation 3-5-2
- 1Leutwiler
- 2Grandison
- 5Ellis
- 6GoldsonBooked at 89mins
- 12Gayle
- 11LawrenceBooked at 18mins
- 4Woods
- 24Grant
- 3Demetriou
- 9CollinsSubstituted forManganat 71'minutes
- 26Akpa-AkproSubstituted forBarnettat 71'minutes
Substitutes
- 10Vernon
- 19Mangan
- 21Halstead
- 22Clark
- 23Barnett
- 28Mandron
- 31Smith
- Referee:
- Trevor Kettle
- Attendance:
- 5,117
Match Stats
Home TeamCheltenhamAway TeamShrewsbury
- Possession
- Home55%
- Away45%
- Shots
- Home5
- Away9
- Shots on Target
- Home1
- Away6
- Corners
- Home9
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home12
- Away11
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Cheltenham Town 0, Shrewsbury Town 1.
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Foul by Omari Sterling-James (Cheltenham Town).
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Jermaine Grandison (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Corner, Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Omari Sterling-James.
Booking
Connor Goldson (Shrewsbury Town) is shown the yellow card.
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Corner, Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Trevor Carson.
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Attempt saved. Tyrone Barnett (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
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Omari Sterling-James (Cheltenham Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Cameron Gayle (Shrewsbury Town).
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Corner, Cheltenham Town. Conceded by Jayson Leutwiler.
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Attempt saved. Joe Hanks (Cheltenham Town) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
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Durrell Berry (Cheltenham Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Andy Mangan (Shrewsbury Town).
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Corner, Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Craig Braham-Barrett.
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Attempt blocked. Zack Kotwica (Cheltenham Town) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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Corner, Cheltenham Town. Conceded by Jermaine Grandison.
Substitution
Substitution, Shrewsbury Town. Andy Mangan replaces James Collins.
Substitution
Substitution, Shrewsbury Town. Tyrone Barnett replaces Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro.
Post update
Attempt missed. Matt Sparrow (Cheltenham Town) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
