Shrewsbury 1 Sunderland 2: Highlights after late Ross Stewart and Luke O'Nien goals in FA Cup win
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Tony Mowbray’s side were denied a penalty in the first half when Patrick Roberts was brought down and instead booked for diving.
The visitors dominated the second half but couldn’t make a breakthrough, before Matthew Pennington opened the scoring for the hosts from a corner.
Sunderland then scored two stoppage-time goals as Ross Stewart and Luke O’Nien turned the match around.
Here’s how the game played out:
RECAP: Shrewsbury 1 (Pennington, 81) Sunderland 2 (Stewart, 90+1) (O’Nien, 90+3)
Key Events
- Sunderland XI: Bass, Hume, Wright, Ballard, O’Nien, Michut (Rigg, 81), Neil, Ba (Stewart, 59), Roberts, Bennette (Clarke, 59), Amad
- Subs: Patterson, Carney, Gooch, Clarke, Rigg, Middlemas, Cotcher, Watson, Stewart
- Shrewsbury XI: Marosi, Dunkley, Moore, Pennington, Bennett (Street, 72), Shipley, Phillips, Leahy, Bayliss (Da Costa, 85), Saydee (Pyke, 72), O’Brien (Bloxham, 46)
- Subs: Burgoyne, Dacosta, Bloxham, Pyke, Street, Bailey, Barlow.
It’s Matchday!
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland’s FA Cup third-round tie at Shrewsbury.
It’s 50 years since the Black Cats won the competition by beating Leeds in the final, a match Tony Mowbray says he still remembers.
We’ll have all of the build-up ahead of the match at the Montgomery Waters Meadow Stadium, as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.
Stick around and refresh the page for live updates throughout the day.
Transfer latest
We’ll start with the latest Sunderland transfer news.
It was announced last night that midfielder Jay Matete has signed for League One side Plymouth on loan until the end of the season.
Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said the player has “worked tirelessly during the current campaign but found limited opportunities, so it’s only right for his development that we seek an option to get him more playing time in the right environment. “
Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray has also said other players may be allowed to leave on loan this month if it’s felt there is sufficient cover in the squad.
After Ellis Simms was recalled by Everton, Sunderland are still hoping to sign two more strikers this month, while central midfield is another area they want to strengthen.
Team news
Mowbray will still be without several first-team players this afternoon, yet Lynden Gooch is available again following a hamstring issue.
Aji Alese, Danny Batth, Dennis Cirkin, Alex Pritchard, Niall Huggins, Corry Evans and Elliot Embleton are all sidelined, while Mowbray may look to rotate his squad where possible.
Jewison Bennette and Leon Dajaku may receive an opportunity, while 15-year-old Chris Rigg is set to be named in Sunderland’s squad.
Top scorer Ross Stewart was keen to play but may not be risked from the start due to the squad’s lack of striker options.
Mowbray on team selection
Here’s what Mowbray said when asked about the side he might play at Shrewsbury.
“The numbers are quite low - we haven’t really got the players to change the team significantly. So some players will get an opportunity but mostly they are players who will have featured at some stage recently anyway.
“For Sunderland, every game is serious and we want to win. It is an opportunity for some younger players to get on the grass and play for this football club, so it’s about getting the balance right.
“Hopefully we put a team out that can be very competitive and win the match because I know that Shrewsbury Town are going to be very, very competitive. I have to make sure I get the balance right so we’re not too young, too small, and they have too much for us physically. That said, they do have some good players as well.
“I’m expecting a tough game and we have to be at our best to ask questions of them.”
How Shrewsbury are shaping up
Shrewsbury sit 16th in League One and are dealing with several injury setbacks following three consecutive defeats.
Former Sunderland defender Tom Flanagan is a doubt for the match, while Aiden O’Brien, who left Wearside last year, has just recovered from a groin issue.
Meanwhile, Carl Winchester is not expected to feature against his parent club.
To find out more about Shrewsbury, we caught up with Ollie Warner from The Salopcast Podcast on the latest episode of The Roar Podcast.
Here’s what he said when asked about the club’s injury setbacks:
“Steve Cotterill has got a philosophy, which in whole I kind of support, of having a small squad. What that obviously does is that puts the squad at risk when you get injuries.
“We’ve got our left wing-back George Nurse and our striker Daniel Udoh both out with ACL injuries, and our right wing-back Elliott Bennett has been out injured.
“Aiden O’Brien has’t really been fit all season and we’ve been quite unlucky with injuries.
“Tom Flanagan is also a doubt and has been suffering with a hip injury for a while.”
Cotterill wants side to go back to basics
After seeing his side receive three red cards in their last three matches, Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill wants his side to go back to basics as they look to turn their form around.
“We have probably had to reset a little bit this week, and gone back to basics on a few things,” he said.
“Just because sometimes those reminders to a few people need to be integrated back into training again.
“I would still say we would have picked up more points over the last week than we did had we been able to play with 11 men all game.”
Predicted line-ups
Here are our predicted line-ups for today’s match:
Predicted Shrewsbury XI: Marosi, Pennington Dunkley, Moore, Bennett, Phillips, Leahy, Shipley, Bayliss, Street, Saydee
Predicted Sunderland XI: Bass, Gooch, Wright, O’Nien, Hume, Michut, Neil, Ba, Roberts, Bennette, Dajaku
