Upbeat Shrewsbury skipper Mattie Morris takes his side to fellow strugglers Wednesbury on Saturday confident of securing the victory they need to keep them on track to escape relegation.
The Sundorne Castle men breathed fresh life into their battle against the drop with a priceless win over Bridgnorth in their last Midlands Three West (North) outing a fortnight ago.
And with Shrewsbury only having to make a couple of changes for this weekend’s trip to the West Midlands, Morris is hopeful his men can move a step closer towards clinching survival. “We’re all eager for the game,” he said. “Getting back up is harder than staying up so it’s definitely something we don’t want to have to do.
“Wednesbury have lost quite a few lately and we’ve done quite well there on recent visits. We know that if we manage to beat them we will be just a point behind them in the table and we think they’ve got a tougher run-in than we have.”
Shrewsbury welcome back Andrew Swann from a month on the sidelines with a shoulder injury to replace the unavailable John Wareham at centre. And Sam Barnett, the son of coach Stuart, comes in at full back to replace Dominic Bradburn.
“It’s a strong side and a strong bench as well, which is important,” added Morris, keen to avenge the early season home defeat they suffered against Wednesbury.
SHREWSBURY 1st XV: N. Williams, D. Kinney, B. Jenkins, S. Crippen, G. Adams, S. Evitts, S. Wycherley, J. Plant, J. Pugh, M. Morris, W. Jones, L. Mill, A. Swann, J. Adams, S. Barnett. Subs: N. Challinor, S. Owen, I. Bussey.
Meanwhile, third-bottom Whitchurch hope to give their fight against relegation in Midlands Two West a real shot in the arm by pulling off a much-needed victory at home to mid-table Lichfield on Saturday.