Elliott praises Nlundulu after Cheltenham edge out Shrews

Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott praised Dan Nlundulu after his first goal since mid-September sealed a 1-0 win at Shrewsbury.

It was the Southampton loanee’s fifth goal of the season in all competitions, but he had endured a long wait for a Sky Bet League One strike.

The moment arrived late in the first period as he touched in Ryan Jackson’s cross at the near post to earn the Robins a battling third away victory of the campaign, with both sides having their captains sent off in the second period.

“It was really good movement and we had banged the drum with him about getting between the sticks more and getting across people and he does so much work in the middle third,” Elliott said.

“If he can add that to his game, it’ll be a big leap forward for him.

“That’s why he’s here so he can have that experience and we can do that with him. It was pleasing and we made numerous opportunities against Plymouth (1-0 Boxing Day home defeat) and we weren’t able to take one of them, or capitalise.

“We fell just the wrong side of that result so it’s pleasing that, when we created a good chance, we were able to capitalise on it and be clinical.

“Dan was slow to get into the game and a little bit laboured. He scored the goal and, from there, you saw a more genuine reflection of him.”

Shrewsbury had been on top for much of the opening period, with Tom Bayliss firing over the bar from a good position in the 19th minute after good work from Christian Saydee.

Saydee released Rob Street in the 32nd minute and the front man beat one defender before smashing a shot just over the top.

Cheltenham opened the scoring against the run of play in the 38th minute and the second half was more of the same with Shrewsbury pinning their visitors into their own half.

Taylor Moore’s cross was headed over by Saydee early in the second half and Luke Southwood saved brilliantly from Jordan Shipley, pushing away his header with a full-stretch dive to his left in the 54th minute. Bayliss curled one just wide two minutes later.

Both teams saw their captain sent off in the 69th minute, with Robins skipper Charlie Raglan dismissed for a late tackle on Shipley and Luke Leahy following him down the tunnel for his involvement in the melee that followed the challenge.

Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill, who led Cheltenham to three promotions between 1997 and 2002, said he was disappointed by Raglan’s challenge.

“The footage is horrendous and it’s a leg-breaking tackle,” he said.

“Luke Leahy comes across and the referee hasn’t given a foul which is why Luke’s come across.

“The referee can give a foul there. I’ve just been in to see him and he knows he’s made a mistake but where does that get us? Jordan Shipley could’ve had a broken leg tonight. I’ve got the picture here, the still of it – it’s horrendous.

“It’s a bad tackle and we end up getting a man sent off and that’s not where we want to be in that. We don’t want anyone sent off. The referee could’ve stopped all that tonight if he’d booked their goalkeeper for wasting time in the first 15 minutes, the game would’ve flowed then.”