Cup joy for KCs as Shrews are tamed

Although they worked hard, Shrewsbury never really put KCs under too much pressure.

On occasions the visitors put some promising running moves together, but were usually brought to a halt with some good tackling.

Neither side will have found much to savour, but a place in the next round will do KCs no harm as they endeavour to reduce their injury and unavailability list.

Richard Wakefield appeared on the left wing, having had just one outing with the first team. He came on for 10 minutes as a replacement earlier in the season.

Shrewsbury wasted an easy penalty kick inside the first two minutes, but KCs soon went into an attacking mode that produced a try in the 17th minute.

From a line-out the ball went out left and Wakefield went over for his first try for the first 15.

A scrappy first half ended with a player from each side getting sin-binned, and Andy Stooksbury kicking his third drop goal of the season.

It was 8-0 at the interval, but the game was still wide open with neither side showing any great promise.

James Lloyd Jones attempted two long range penalties but did not succeed, although Matty Morris, the Shrewsbury stand-off, did in the 54th minute to make the score 8-3.

Within 10 minutes Stooksbury had kicked a penalty to make it 11-3.

KCs never looked back after that and in the 70th minute a good drive took them over the visitors' line and lock forward Matt Poole touched down.

Stooksbury converted to make it 18-3.

With two minutes remaining Wakefield rounded off a good game with his second try.

Coach Ross Baxter said: "It was a workmanlike performance, and the players responded well in the second half, following a call for a much bigger effort than we had seen in the opening half.

"I thought we looked dangerous when we ran it wide, and our defensive back line was very good.

"Andy Stooksbury put up some kicks in the second half, and I felt that both Richard Wakefield and James Lloyd Jones did well."