Salford City Vs Shrewsbury: Joe Hart Helps Out as Shrewsbury End Salford's Run with 2-1 Win
Shrewsbury's 2-1 victory at Salford — a match framed in the preview build-up as Salford City Vs Shrewsbury — produced two clear storylines: Will Boyle's decisive strike made it five wins in a row for the visitors, and Joe Hart unexpectedly filled in as Shrewsbury's goalkeeper coach for the League Two fixture. The result compounds a difficult run for Salford while continuing Shrewsbury's surge under their new management team.
Salford City Vs Shrewsbury: match result, scoreline and the Hart cameo
Shrewsbury won 2-1 at Salford, with Will Boyle scoring the decisive goal. Joe Hart, the former England and Manchester City goalkeeper who started his career in Salop, was helping his old club out and filled in as the club's goalkeeper coach for the League Two fixture.
How the match unfolded
Salford took a fortuitous lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Matthew Cox pushed a mis-hit Ryan Graydon volley against Luca Hoole and the ball rebounded into the net. The home side had started brightly earlier, with Ossama Ashley and Jorge Grant both going close.
Shrewsbury overturned that half-time deficit after the break. Six minutes into the second half Tom Sang picked out the bottom corner from the edge of the box after Josh Ruffels’ initial shot had been cleared off the line, bringing the score level. Later, Josh Austerfield rattled the crossbar with a powerful header and Ben Woodburn had a volley cleared off the line for Salford, missed chances that proved costly.
On 76 minutes Boyle fired into the bottom corner to seal the victory and condemn Salford to a fifth straight defeat in all competitions.
Context: league form, table position and managerial shifts
Before the match Salford had lost their last three league games and had recently dropped out of the playoff positions after a 3-2 defeat to Cheltenham Town, leaving them with four defeats in their last five. The preview build-up positioned the fixture as potentially crucial for Salford's promotion hopes and noted their struggle in midweek fixtures, having lost their last three league games played on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday — as many defeats as in their previous 23 such fixtures.
By contrast, Shrewsbury entered the match on the back of four straight League Two wins. The visitors had been occupying 18th in the division after 33 fixtures, with a record of nine wins, eight draws and 16 defeats, giving them 35 points in that snapshot. Gavin Cowan was appointed on January 29; after an initial draw and defeat the club has since won every fixture he has been at the helm for, moving them away from the relegation battle while the preview warned they could still be dragged back if the run stopped.
Injury and squad notes mentioned ahead of the game
Salford were listed as continuing to be without Michael Rose, Jay Bird, Tom Edwards, Dan Chesters, Kallum Cesay and Ade Oluwo, none of whom were part of the squad that lost to Cheltenham. Kadeem Harris was replaced in the first half in that game after going down injured; his replacement Daniel Udoh was withdrawn in the final minutes for Ben Woodburn, raising concerns about fitness. Salford would also be without Luke Garbutt after he was sent off in the weekend defeat.
Shrewsbury were noted as continuing to be without Bradley Ihionvien while he goes through rehabilitation following a layoff. They would also be without John Marquis, who is set to be out for four weeks. Sam Clucas was on the bench at the weekend after injury concerns, and Anthony Scully was being assessed after sustaining another hamstring issue.
Projected/mentioned line-up details and tactical snippets
A match lineup referenced in the preview read: Young; Dorrington, Awe, Cooper; Ashley, Mnoga, Grant, Austerfield, Woodburn; Graydon, Borini. Tactical descriptions in the match account noted Salford's early bright approach, several close attempts and two clear disallowed or cleared chances before Boyle's late winner.
Editorial and publication details included in the coverage
The preview by Brendan McGilligan carried a dateline of 22 Feb 2026 21: 36. The match copy included editorial housekeeping: a notice of adherence to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice and guidance on how to make a complaint about editorial content, plus © 2001-2026. Publication metadata in the original coverage listed a registration in England & Wales and an office address at The Echo Building, 18 Albert Road, Bournemouth, England BH1 1BZ with contact number 01676637. Technical metadata referenced a Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. The coverage also noted that subscribers see 80% less display advertising and that visible adverts are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.
Schedule and status details in the original preview warned that form lines and squad fitness were subject to change; any subsequent updates are unclear in the provided context.
