New signing Udoh haunts former club with brace as Salford beat Shrewsbury

Salford City moved into third place in League Two as two goals from new signing Dan Udoh gave them a 3-1 win over Shrewsbury Town.

Udoh opened his account for the Ammies in the first-half, against the club he spent five years at, squeezing his effort past Manchester United loanee Elyh Harrison.

The vastly experienced Sam Clucas brought the hosts level just after the restart, slotting past Matt Young after a clever run into the box.

Salford struggled to find a foothold in the second half, but with just eight minutes of normal time left, substitute Ben Woodburn fired home to put them back in front.

The victory was cemented in injury time as Udoh fired home again with his favoured left foot to make it 3-1.

Both teams came into this one in vastly different form, with Salford having only lost two of their opening seven and Shrewsbury only picking up their first win of the season last weekend against Barnet.

This left the hosts just above the relegation zone heading into the game, whilst the visitors sat just below the playoff places.

The two had only met on three occasions previously, all in the FA Cup, including a 2-1 victory for Salford on their historic run to the FA Cup third round last season.

Both sides looked to exploit each other in behind early on, with Shrewsbury looking the more dangerous out of the two teams, as Salop striker John Marquis had two half chances in the first 25 minutes, failing to find a clean connection either time.

The first chance finally fell to the Ammies just before the half-hour mark and they broke the deadlock. Kadeem Harris played a one-two with Udoh who fired through Harrison to haunt his former club.

This wasn’t the first time the Nigerian-born striker had done this, having scored off the bench for his former club Wycombe Wanderers in League One last season.

Both sides had big chances just before the break as the game started to stretch. Firstly, Kallum Cesay cut in from the right for Salford and made room for a shot, firing just past the far post.

Bradley Ihonvien, who was in-form with three goals in two games heading into this one, then looked to provide a moment of magic as he brought the ball down, before unleashing a wicked half-volley from distance, only to see it cruelly cannon back off the crossbar.

Shrewsbury made a change at the break, bringing on 17-year-old Isaac England and almost immediately, they levelled it up via an assist from the teenager.

England found Clucas in the box, who shifted it onto his left foot, before squeezing it into the back of the net from close range via a slight deflection.

Shrewsbury continued to find joy as the clock ticked past the hour mark, with Arsenal loanee Ismael Kabia driving into the box from the left wing, chopping in and forcing a smart save out of Young. Fellow loanee Tommy McDermott, of Burnley, went close moments later, coming off the right, striking a low effort just past the post.

The Ammies were gifted a rare opportunity, a free-kick just outside the Shrewsbury box late on, as Harrison was booked for handling outside his area. However, captain Luke Garbutt bent his effort high over the bar.

The free kick that followed brought much more joy to the travelling fans, as Woodburn, who had been introduced 20 minutes before, fired a low effort into the bottom right corner, leaving Harrison with no chance.

The three points were sealed in added time through another Udoh goal, making it two goals and two assists in just two appearances for his new club, much to the delight of the away fans, who serenaded him with a new song.

The result leaves promotion-chasing Salford in the automatic spots, level on points with 4th-placed Walsall.