Shrewsbury fell to a 1-0 loss at home to Wigan.

A well-contested first half left the two sides level at the break.

Matt Smith’s goal on the hour mark proved to be the winner for the visitors.

Salop, though, created plenty of chances to pull level with Chey Dunkley coming closest late on.

But despite their best efforts - Wigan to just enough to hold on for the points.

Team news:

Boss Paul Hurst opted to keep faith with the team that picked up an impressive point against Barnsley on Tuesday.

Sticking with a 4-3-3 formation, Carl Winchester sat in midfield with Jack Hinchy and Tom Bayliss move advanced.

In attack, Tom Bloxham started on the right flank with Jordan Shipley on the left and Dan Udoh the lone striker.

Wigan, under the guidance of Shaun Maloney, lined up in a 3-4-3 system with Josh Magennis leading the line and Thelo Aasgaard and Martial Godo out wide.

Report:

It was Wigan who started the game the brighter of the two teams.

And they went on to create the first chance with Luke Chambers’ effort from just inside the box kept out by a smart save from Marko Marosi.

From that moment on, though, Town grew in stature.

And they thought they had got their noses in front midway through the half when a corner was played to Winchester on the edge of the box.

His drilled shot then fell for Bloxham who slotted the ball into the corner only to see the linesman raise his flag for offside.

Less than a minute later, Salop went close again when Bayliss’ glancing header went just wide of the post following another corner.

After this, there was little to separate the two sides for the remaining 20 minutes with much of the football being played in the middle of the park.

The second half began with Mal Benning putting in a great cross for Aaron Pierre whose header was saved brilliantly by Tickle.

In what was a dominant period for Town, another chance came our way as Udoh burst into the box before his dangerous cross hit Jason Kerr. 

The ball could have gone anywhere but fortunately for the defender, it sailed wide of the post.

Wigan went on to open the scoring on the hour mark when, from a corner, the ball fell for Smith - with his deflected volley finding the back of the net.

Town looked for an instant reply. Bayliss’ short free-kick was played to Benning on the edge of the box but his strike was parried out for a corner by Tickle.

With a look to turn things around, Paul Hurst made four changes with Elliott Bennett, Nohan Kenneh, Taylor Perry and Ryan Bowman all entering the fray at the 70-minute mark.

With five minutes to go until the 90, Salop started to apply relentless pressure.

First, Udoh ventured down the left with some brilliant work before seeing his shot deflect wide.

From the following corner, the ball fell to Dunkley whose header looked destined for the back of the net, but a Wigan defender somehow kept it out.

Salop kept pushing from that point, but Wigan just did enough to cling on for the points.

Teams:

Shrewsbury: Marosi, Feeney, Dunkley, Pierre, Benning, Winchester (Bowman 68), Hinchy (Perry 68), Bayliss (Bennett 68), Bloxham (O'Brien 89), Shipley (Kenneh 68), Udoh.

Subs not used: Burgoyne, Sraha.

Wigan: Tickle, Hughes, Clare, M. Smith (S. Smith 74), Aasgaard, Jones (Morrison 83), Kerr, Godo (J. Smith), Chambers, Adeeko, Magennis (Humphrys 68).

Subs not used: Amos, McManaman, Kelman.

Referee: Lee Swabey

Attendance: 7,206 (1195 away)