Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor praised his side for overcoming their injury crisis to reach the third round of the FA Cup with a 3-2 win over Notts County.

Ryan Bowman’s hat-trick sealed victory as the striker opened the scoring in the first minute and, following Richard Brindley’s equaliser, netted twice more in the second half before James Sanderson’s late consolation.

“I think what sums up the evening and the week we have had for me is the players celebrating with all of the supporters,” Taylor said.

“The supporters have seen how hard they worked, but what they’ve done again is put their bodies on the line. Elliott Bennett is playing with eight stitches and you must look at the state of the squad – their effort and application was fantastic.

“We got beaten 4-0 at Blackpool and I questioned the players a lot and in the space of seven days we have picked up four points in the league and are through to the next round of the FA Cup, all with 11 injuries, and that is the reality. We have left 11 first-team players in the treatment room today.

“I’m really pleased because 674 Shrewsbury fans have travelled and it’s cold, it’s a lot of money to get here and to share that moment with the players is what this football club is all about.”

County’s defenders endured a night to forget and boss Luke Williams was unimpressed in the manner of all three goals his side conceded.

“I’m disappointed, very disappointed,” he said.

“It’s not a disgrace to concede goals against a really good team, but the manner in which we concede those goals is the problem. To lose 3-2 in the cup leaves me with a really horrible feeling.”

There was, though, a moment to remember for young academy star Sanderson, who made his professional debut the day after his 17th birthday and scored with almost his first touch of the game with a fine finish from just outside the area.

Williams has high hopes for him but wants him to keep his feet on the ground.

He said: “He came to train with the first team straight and we saw straight away that he has a few traits like a senior player – more than you would expect from a young guy.

“He took the goal brilliantly, but then I realised he had his socks low like as if he was a £100million player like Jack Grealish, so we had a quick conversation about that one. But I am really impressed with him and we need make sure that he remember that he’s still got a long way to go.”

Ryan Bowman’s hat-trick fired Shrewsbury into the FA Cup third round with a 3-2 victory over Notts County.

Bowman gave his side an early lead, only for Richard Brindley to equalise for the hosts, but the Shrews striker completed his treble with two goals inside eight second-half minutes before 17-year-old James Sanderson pulled one back late on for County.

The visitors were gifted the lead in the first minute when Aden Baldwin’s slip let in Dan Udoh, who squared the ball to Bowman for a simple finish.

Luke Williams’ side dominated possession and were rewarded seven minutes before the break when Brindley’s long-range effort flew beyond Marko Marosi.

But Shrewsbury were able to regain their lead early in the second half as another defensive error allowed Bowman to grab his second and he struck for a third time in the 56th minute after another mistake from Baldwin.

The hosts got their second late on through Sanderson, picking his spot with one of his first touches on his professional debut.

New boss Matty Taylor heaped praise on Shrewsbury captain Ryan Bowman after his second-half goal secured a 1-0 win over Cheltenham.

Bowman pounced in the 50th minute after Luke Southwood had to dive at full stretch to parry Ben Williams’ header towards his own goal following Jordan Shipley’s cross, ensuring it was the perfect start to Taylor’s reign at the Croud Meadow.

“I can only commend Ryan for what he’s done since I’ve been in the building,” Taylor said.

“He’s been exemplary in his behaviour, he’s in unbelievable physical shape and he’s paid to score goals, which is what he’s done today.

“I am pleased for him, leading the team and scoring the winning goal. I thought it was a dominant performance, without the scoreline suggesting that, because we were excellent, especially in the first half.

“It’s nice to get three points and a 1-0 win at home is the ideal start, even if we should have been out of sight by half time.”

Bowman had shot wide a minute before his goal after a long clearance from Marko Marosi caught out the away defence.

Three Cheltenham staff, including director of football Micky Moore, left for Shrewsbury this summer, meaning there was an extra edge building up to the opening-day clash, but the game did not come to life until late in the first period.

Daniel Udoh turned a low ball from Shipley over for Shrewsbury and at the other end after Liam Sercombe’s shot was saved, Rob Street nearly netted against his former loan club but Morgan Feeney’s fine challenge denied him.

Bowman’s strike partner Udoh, back from a 12-month ACL injury absence, forced Southwood into a block at his near post in the 75th minute as Shrewsbury nearly made it 2-0, but they had done enough.

Robins boss Wade Elliott was encouraged by the way his team finished the game, despite suffering an opening-day defeat.

“I thought the last half-an-hour or so was probably a better representation of what we want to be about,” he said.

“For whatever reason the shackles came off and we looked a bit more like ourselves. For the first hour, it wasn’t a classic, put it that way.

“It was a cagey game and we knew it’d come down to a moment and unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of that moment.

“Before that, ironically enough without having the bulk of the game we probably had the better chances and in the last half-an-hour we took the ball and played with a bit more intent.

“The challenge from us is to have that mindset from the off.”