Devante Cole fires Fleetwood to Shrewsbury success
Devante Cole's early goal proved enough to earn Fleetwood a 1-0 win at lowly Shrewsbury.
Fleetwood, now unbeaten in their last 11 league and cup games, were rewarded for their bright start with a ninth-minute breakthrough as Amari'i Bell's low cross from the left was turned home from close range by Cole.
The Cod Army had the better of the first half but Shrewsbury goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler twice impressively denied them further success.
Leutwiler came racing off his line to block well from Bobby Grant after the Fleetwood midfielder dispossessed Gary Deegan.
Then Grant turned provider as his cross from the right was met by the head of Cole, with Canada international Leutwiler tipping the effort over the crossbar.
Ivan Toney's 20-yard free-kick was comfortably saved by Alex Cairns at the other end as Shrewsbury found chances hard to come by.
There were few chances for either team in the second half, although substitute Ashley Hunter curled a shot from just outside the box narrowly over for the visitors.
Shrewsbury asked more questions of Fleetwood defensively in the final 25 minutes but Uwe Rosler's men stood up to everything asked of them.
Toney had a close-range effort blocked and Shaun Whalley hammered a shot wide as Fleetwood stood firm to move into the play-off spots and leave Shrewsbury, beaten in their last three matches, languishing in the bottom four.
Source : PA
Source: PA