George Hirst’s first home goal for the Blues has given Town a 1-0 half-time lead against Shrewsbury at half-time at Portman Road.

Boss Kieran McKenna named an unchanged side for only the third time this season, while there was one change on the bench with Kane Vincent-Young coming in for Janoi Donacien.

Shrewsbury made one change from the team which beat Morecambe 3-1 last week with Elliott Bennett coming in for Tom Bayliss, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. Former Town loanee Matt Pennington started in the Shrews' defence.

Town started on the front foot, taking the game to the visitors but in the fourth minute Christian Walton had to be alert to a quick Shrewsbury break, coming a long way out of his goal to clear and subsequently making his annoyance with his caught-on-their-heels defence clear.

From the resultant throw-in, Walton was in action again, superbly tipping over skipper Luke Leahy’s header from under the bar to his right from Pennington’s cross.

But play quickly returned to the other end of the field with Harry Clarke first winning a corner, which led to a brief scramble in the box, then within a minute sending over a cross from the right which was just too long.

Nathan Broadhead saw a shot blocked and Conor Chaplin the same following another corner with the confident and determined Blues piling on the pressure.

On 12, Broadhead smashed a free-kick from not far outside the area into the wall after Massimo Luongo had been fouled following a corner.

And, after a short respite for a visitors’ attack which came to nothing, Town’s pressure bore fruit in the 16th minute.

Wes Burns beat Taylor Moore down the right, clipped over a cross and George Hirst steered a header across Shrews’ keeper Marko Marosi and into the corner of the net, the on-loan Leicester man’s first home goal for the Blues and his second in a week provided by the Wales international. It was only the 18th goal conceded by Shrewsbury on the road this season.

Chaplin audibly smashed a free-kick into Chey Dunkley’s face from 25 yards as the game reached the 20-minute mark, the former Wigan man requiring a few seconds to recover his bearings before continuing.

Within a minute, Jordan Shipley was booked for fouling Burns as the striker ran round the outside of him on the right. Leif Davis opted to shoot from a tight angle when a cross seemed the more obvious move but keeper Marosi was wise to it and claimed his well-struck shot.

Town continued to dominate, passing the ball around slickly and at pace mainly in and around the penalty area, looking for the space to carve out another opportunity but with Shrewsbury stoically sticking to their defensive duties.

On 37, Burns looped over a cross from the right and the unmarked Luongo headed powerfully just wide of Marosi’s left post. It was a decent chance the Australian international will feel he should have taken.

Within a minute, there was a scare for the Blues at the other end, Rob Street clipping a dangerous ball to the edge of the Town six-yard box from the left, but Cameron Burgess deftly chested beyond the far post.

In the 40th minute, Shrewsbury threatened again when Shipley was found in space on the left of the area. The former Coventry man’s first shot was cut out but the ball was returned to him and the midfielder struck a low strike which Walton saved at his near post.

Moments later, Chaplin shot over for the Blues, then on 43 Rekeil Pyke was yellow-carded for a late tackle on Luke Woolfenden.

As the half moved into two additional minutes, Luongo turned and shot from Davis’s pass but too close to Marosi, who saved sharply.

The Blues were warmly applauded off at the whistle after another very impressive 45 minutes and having taken their all-time clean sheet record to 641 minutes.

Town had done more than enough to be in front at the break, Hirst heading home in a manner not dissimilar to new Hall of Fame inductee Marcus Stewart’s Wembley 2000 goal, although from the other side.

The Blues might well have been further ahead given their overall dominance, 69 per cent of the possession, most of it in the Shrewsbury half, illustrating how much they had been in control.

However, Shrewsbury had showed a threat on a couple of occasions with Walton forced to make two very good saves.

A second goal after the break ought to seal it, but the Blues will have to remain wary of the Shrews on their rare forays into the Town half.

Town: Walton, Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Burns, Morsy (c), Luongo, Davis, Chaplin, Broadhead, Hirst. Subs: Hladky, Vincent-Young, Ball, Edwards, Harness, Jackson, Ladapo.

Shrewsbury: Marosi, Leahy (c), Pennington, Moore, Winchester, Street, Pyke, Bennett, Dunkley, Shipley, Flanagan. Subs: Burgoyne, Bowman, Bloxham, Saydee, Craig, Barlow. Referee: Ollie Yates (Staffordshire).

Photo: Matchday Images

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