A brace of goals a week ago at Altrincham took Jon Shaw's tally for the season to 20. He reportedly agreed a revised target of 25 with Manager Chris Wilder. Another brace in tonight's 3 v 2 triumph over Torquay United may well result in another revised target and both Player and Manager will be delighted with the whole teams performance in this win which was much more comprehensive that the final score suggests.
The Town players won battles all over the park as they tore into The Gulls from the first whistle.Saturday's starting 11 which beat Histon retained their places and they wasted no time in making their attacking intentions known, especially Jon Shaw.
His 4th minute shot hit teammate Simon Heslop and a couple of minutes later the midfielder's precise pass found the in form striker but his rising shot just cleared the crossbar.But it wasn't long before he notched his 21st goal of the season when Lewis Killeen received the ball on the left and in turn found wing back Matt Doughty.His cross was perfect and Shaw's head made no mistake from 6 yards out.
Danny Forrest spelt danger for Torquay every time he received the ball on the right.And, he could have scored his second goal of the season on 33 minutes when neat interplay with Shaw inside the penalty area gave him a shooting opportunity but his shot was just too high.A Lewis Killeen header was just off target from an excellent Gareth Davies cross then Forrest failed to find the net at the near post with another shot.
Town's play deserved a 2nd goal before the break and it duly arrived on 43 minutes when Doughty linked with Killeen on the left and crossed towards Shaw at the near post.The ball ended up in the net but Shaw certainly didn't claim it and it is likely to be registered as an own goal but the Town players and fans didn't care as they went in the interval holding a 2 goal advantage against highly rated opposition that rarely threatened in the first period such was The Shaymen's domination.
Playing with the advantage of an increasing wind Torquay were expected to launch a fight back but Town had other ideas and took the game to the opposition.Killeen shot wide within 3 minutes of the restart was involved in the 49th minute move that lead to the third goal.Another one two on the left saw Doughty cross to the far past where Shaw rose above his marker and plant a firm header past Martin Rice.
Shaw had another shot blocked on 53 minutes as The Shaymen threatened to run riot then Forrest cut in from the right hand side and unleashed a ferocious shot that just cleared the bar.Rice saved from that man Shaw again on 59 minutes and then pulled off a double save 2 minutes later.Firstly he beat away Heslop's 30 yard shot and somehow got up to block Forrest's attempt from the rebound.
A Torquay fight back looked a million miles away but Adam Quinn limped from the action forcing a defensive reshuffle and this contributed to Le Phillips scoring twice in 9 minutes.He latched onto a ball over the top and bear Adam Legzdins from 20 yards for the first then capitalised on a poor kick by the Town keeper to make the score 3 v 2.
The Shaymen weren't finished as an attacking force with Forrest surging into the box but the Referee waved away penalty appeals.Andy Campbell joined the action and won the corner from which Town looked to have scored a 4th.Shaw's header from Doughty's corner was turned home by Killeen but Shaw was adjudged to have fouled his marker.Shaw charged down keeper Rice's clearance but Heslop failed to hit the target with a 45 yard lob and despite 4 minutes of added time The Shaymen held on for a fully deserved 3 points.
The quality of football played in atrocious conditions was a joy to the Town fans in attendance and the Club will be hoping many more supporters turn out for The Setanta Shield game with Burton Albion on Thursday evening.
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