Michael Appleton wants his improving Shrewsbury side to maintain momentum

Michael Appleton insists his revitalised Shrewsbury team must keep their foot “on the gas” after safely progressing into the second round of the FA Cup.

A clinical first-half performance laid the basis for a 3-1 win for the League Two strugglers at National League North high-fliers South Shields in the televised first-round tie, thanks to an Anthony Scully double and a third goal from Tom Sang.

It was the third win in four matches for Appleton, who is starting to transform the fortunes of the Shrews after lifting them out of the drop zone in the bottom tier, following their relegation from League One.

“I think we’ve given our fans something to shout about over recent weeks and we want to make sure we keep our foot on the gas,” said the 49-year-old.

“I believe there has been a change of mentality over the last four or five weeks, a realisation as to where we are.

“We’ve looked hard to beat and started to score goals, which is a good combination.

“We are delighted, it was a really professional performance. Hopefully, we can potentially get a home tie in the next round and give us an opportunity to get into the hat when the big boys come into the competition.”

For Shields, who had come through three ties to reach the first round, there was disappointment for boss Ian Chandler that they only had a long-range Luke Woolston second-half strike to show for their efforts in front of a packed 3,570 crowd.

“I’m proud, but frustrated, we showed in moments how good we are as a team,” said Chandler, who now takes his team to Fylde on Wednesday night in a top of the table league showdown.

“Our disappointment can’t last because we now have to make sure we prepare for Wednesday and are fully ready to go at Fylde.”