Shrewsbury 0 Manchester United 3
In the end the outcome was thoroughly predictable, as Manchester United strolled into the FA Cup quarter-finals and Louis van Gaal cherished the breathing space and respite that a routine victory provided.
There were no expletive-laden chants from the travelling fans or calamitous defensive errors on the pitch on this occasion as United emphasised the chasm between two clubs that are separated by 60 places on the league ladder and a million miles in many other respects. For Shrewsbury, who are fourth from bottom in League One, it was a chastening night at times as they spent long periods of the game chasing shadows against a United side that never gave their opponents the slightest encouragement that there could be an upset.
The result will not go any way to repairing the damage inflicted in that dismal 2-1 Europa League defeat against Midtjylland – the only way that will happen is if United overturn the deficit at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday night – but this was a result to lift the mood if nothing else. Juan Mata scored a lovely goal and looked like he was enjoying himself, which was certainly not the case in Denmark last Thursday, when his feeble challenge on the edge of the area allowed Midtjylland to score a winner.
As the Spaniard demonstrated with the wonderful free-kick that doubled United’s lead in the 45th minute here, he is much more useful in the same position at the opposition end of the pitch and the warm applause that later greeted his substitution will have done him no harm.
Chris Smalling, with his second of the season, put the Premier League club ahead and the visitors' other goal was provided by Jesse Lingard just after the hour mark, in front of the United fans, who were now going through their full repertoire of songs, chanting about everything from winning the title 20 times to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Shrewsbury, to their credit, never gave up the fight and Micky Mellon’s side ought to have had a goal to celebrate in the final 10 minutes, when Abu Ogogo saw a shot cleared off the line by Joe Riley, the United debutant, and then inexplicably headed another chance wide when it appeared easier to score.
United will not need telling that this is no cause to get carried away. Shrewsbury have lost 10 of their 15 home matches in League One this season and are desperately fighting relegation. Indeed they have not won at home in the league since a 2-0 victory over Bury four months ago and every penny counts at a level where the players are expected to wash their own kit and lunch is picked up from the local sandwich shop.
These, however, are strange times for United supporters and it has got to the stage where nothing is taken for granted, even if there were strains of “Wembley, Wembley‚” ringing out with only a few minutes gone.
By that point United should have already been ahead but Smalling, from an outswinging Daley Blind corner, profligately headed over from six yards out with only 74 seconds on the clock. The rest of the first half was a story of United dominance and it always felt like a matter of time before the visitors opened the scoring.
Shrewsbury were sitting deep and defending in numbers as United monopolised possession in what felt like a game of attack against defence at times. The only surprise was that we had to wait until the 35th minute for the breakthrough. Smalling, atoning for that earlier miss, was the unlikely scorer.
Morgan Schneiderlin – one of three changes to the side that started against Midtjylland in Denmark – headed the ball into the path of the centre-half as Junior Brown, the Shrewsbury left-wing-back hesitated, and the England international drilled an angled 12-yard shot into the ground and beyond Jayson Leutwiler. It was not exactly finished with aplomb but certainly more effective than the shot Memphis Depay thumped against the top of the Salop Leisure Stand after six minutes.
United kept coming back for more and Depay, after linking well with the impressive Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on the left flank, struck a low shot that was arrowing towards the bottom corner until Leutwiler, stretching every sinew, clawed it clear with one hand. On the next occasion it was Abu Ogogo who came to Shrewsbury’s rescue, with the midfielder heading off the line after Leutwiler had partially blocked Anthony Martial’s shot with his boot.
Smalling’s goal, however, changed the complexion of the game in the sense that Shrewsbury could no longer adopt a backs-to-the-wall approach and on the stroke of half-time United added a second with a touch of class. Martial was fouled on the edge of the Shrewsbury penalty area and Mata stepped up to curl a sublime free-kick inside the near post to leave Leutwiler rooted to the spot.
The second half was little more than a procession for United. Riley replaced Borthwick-Jackson at left-back and the pattern of the match remained the same, with Lingard, sidefooting home Ander Herrera’s centre, adding the third.
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