Steve Cotterill paid tribute to matchwinner Rob Street as Shrewsbury ended their home campaign with a 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers.
The Crystal Palace loanee doubled Town’s advantage after captain and ex-Rovers star Luke Leahy headed the opening goal after three minutes on his 100th appearance for the club.
Middlesbrough loanee Josh Coburn ended his near four-month goal drought with a 70th-minute reply for the visitors.
But Rovers’ hopes of avoiding a sixth game without victory ended with a miss by substitute Luca Hoole and a fine save from Marko Marosi to deny Coburn a second.
“It was brilliant for Rob,” said Cotterill after Shrewsbury’s first win in nine and Street’s fourth goal of the season after 53 minutes. “He hasn’t trained this week from the game last weekend.
“And he went to his granddad’s funeral this morning (Tuesday) then drove up from London.
“He deserves a large amount of credit for playing. I couldn’t be happier for him.
“He works a lot on it (finishing) but a lot of it is confidence. It is all well and good him coming from Crystal Palace but he hadn’t played at League One level.”
On the three points to lift Shrewsbury into the top half of the table, Cotterill added: “It is nice to hear ‘excellent win’ because it has been a long time coming.
“Look at them making five substitutes. Their calibre of subs would be in our starting line-up.
“It must be a delight for Joey to have a squad that size.
“They have a budget that is probably twice ours. But we have taken four points out of six off Bristol Rovers and that’s a good return.”
Rovers boss Joey Barton said: “We lost the game so I don’t want to be too negative towards Shrewsbury.
“We have got to defend our box better. In the first five minutes we were a goal down and that gave them something to hang onto.
“Stats are only a pointer towards a performance, the main one being we lost 2-1.
“But when we got our more technical players on the pitch, we took control,” added Barton who introduced five replacements in one go after Shrewsbury went 2-0 up.
“We were in the ascendancy towards the back end of the game.
“Part of the strategy was to open up late in the game. But we didn’t envisage being two goals down to a team like Shrewsbury.
“There were loads of good things but it encapsulates the season in a nutshell.”
Birmingham 3-1 Wrexham: Stansfield brace hands hosts Hollywood derby bragging rights
Jay Stansfield struck either side of half-time to give 10-man Birimingham a huge 3-1 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham on Monday.
A game dubbed the 'Hollywood derby' was given a blockbuster start when Jack Marriot smashed home the opening goal for the visitors with just two minutes on the clock.
But Birmingham's £10million recruit Stansfield soon levelled the scores, being the first to react to Alfie May's effort that was parried into his path by Arthur Okonkwo.
The hosts then took hold of the encounter as May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman went close, but the game entered the break finely poised at St. Andrew's.
However, Blues' dominance prevailed seven minutes after the restart with Stansfield's header picking out the far corner following Alex Cochrane's pinpoint cross.
And the points were sealed just before the hour-mark in stunning fashion as Tomoki Iwata's strike from distance smashed in off the post, much to the delight of minority owner Tom Brady in the stands.
A fiesty conclusion to proceedings saw Chris Davies' side end the game with a man less after Krystian Bielik was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Andrew Cannon, but Birmingham were able to hold on for the win.
Data Debrief: The American dream
Much was made of Birmingham's approach to the transfer window after spending £25m in their attempts to return the Championship at the first time of asking, but their biggest investment proved his worth on Monday.
Stansfield notched his first two goals for the club since his permanent switch from Fulham, but the Blues striker also played a starring role in the encounter.
He registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Birmingham's 1.3 total, while he also produced more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (six) than any other player.
Birmingham 3-1 Wrexham: Stansfield brace earns hosts Hollywood derby win
Jay Stansfield struck either side of half-time to give 10-man Birimingham a huge 3-1 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham on Monday.
A game dubbed the 'Hollywood derby' was given a blockbuster start when Jack Marriot smashed home the opening goal for the visitors with just two minutes on the clock.
But Birmingham's £10million recruit Stansfield soon levelled the scores, being the first to react to Alfie May's effort that was parried into his path by Arthur Okonkwo.
The hosts then took hold of the encounter as May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman went close, but the game entered the break finely poised at St. Andrew's.
However, Blues' dominance prevailed seven minutes after the restart with Stansfield's header picking out the far corner following Alex Cochrane's pinpoint cross.
And the points were sealed just before the hour-mark in stunning fashion as Tomoki Iwata's strike from distance smashed in off the post, much to the delight of minority owner Tom Brady in the stands.
A fiesty conclusion to proceedings saw Chris Davies' side end the game with a man less after Krystian Bielik was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Andrew Cannon, but Birmingham were able to hold on for the win.
Data Debrief: The American dream
Much was made of Birmingham's approach to the transfer window after spending £25m in their attempts to return the Championship at the first time of asking, but their biggest investment proved his worth on Monday.
Stansfield notched his first two goals for the club since his permanent switch from Fulham, but the Blues striker also played a starring role in the encounter.
He registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Birmingham's 1.3 total, while he also produced more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (six) than any other player.
Reggae Boyz winger Kaheim Dixon completes move to Charlton Athletic
Jamaica’s Kaheim Dixon officially joined Charlton Athletic on a four-year contract, as he was unveiled by the League One club on Friday.
Dixon is now Nathan Jones' eighth summer signing and will wear the number 13 jersey at the London-based club, much like he did at Clarendon College.
The talented winger, who was instrumental in Clarendon College’s two titles in last season’s ISSA schoolboys’ football competition, scoring 32 goals complemented by 17 assists, continued to make a name for himself with Jamaica Premier League (JPL) club Arnett Gardens before eventually breaking into the senior Reggae Boyz setup.
Dixon, 19, was first identified by Charlton Athletic through their partner, Mount Pleasant Football Academy, after which his move from Arnett Gardens, for an undisclosed fee, was then assisted by Charlton Athletic’s strong ties to the Reggae Boyz, according to a release on the club’s website.
This, as Dixon’s Reggae Boy teammate Karoy Anderson is a current member of the club, while another Reggae Boy, Michael Hector, recently left after his contract expired.
Dixon, who has two goals in eight appearances for the Reggae Boyz, expressed delight at his move.
“I’m very happy to be here. My first opportunity to go professional is to be at the Addicks. It’s been very good to see Karoy [Anderson], another teammate from my country. I can’t wait to start playing with him,” he said.
Charlton Athletic have won both League One games played so far this season against Wigan Athletic and Leyton Orient and sit fourth in the table.
They host Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, where Dixon could possibly make a debut appearance.
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