MATCH PREVIEW | SHREWSBURY TOWN

The Bees make their first Sky Bet League Two away trip of the 2026/27 campaign this Saturday, travelling to the Croud Meadow to face Gavin Cowan’s Shrewsbury Town in a 3pm kick-off.

Barnet:

Dean Brennan’s side head to Shropshire in excellent spirits following back-to-back victories at The Hive Stadium.

The Bees opened their league campaign with an impressive 3-1 win over Salford City last Saturday. Oisin Gallagher opened the scoring midway through the first half before Charlie Lakin doubled Barnet’s advantage shortly before the interval.

Kabongo Tshimanga added a third late in the contest, with Salford’s Udoka Godwin-Malife Oluwo heading home a consolation goal in the final minute.

Barnet followed that victory with a commanding 5-1 win against Arsenal Under-21s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday evening.

Dean Brennan made ten changes for the fixture, but his side produced another impressive display under the lights at The Hive.

Bright Siaw and Jack Maskell both found the net before Tom Knowles took centre stage, scoring the first hat-trick of his professional career to complete a memorable evening for the Bees.

Barnet will now look to carry that momentum into Saturday’s game and build upon their winning start to the League Two season.

Barnet’s last five results:

Barnet FC 5-1 Arsenal U21s (EFL Trophy)

Barnet FC 3-1 Salford City (League Two)

Cambridge United 2-1 Barnet FC (Carabao Cup)

Barnet FC 1-1 Bromley (Pre-Season Friendly)

Barnet FC 0-0 MK Dons (Pre-Season Friendly)

Shrewsbury Town:

Shrewsbury began their competitive campaign with an impressive Carabao Cup victory away at Salford City.

Josh Davison gave Town the lead early in the second half before Sam Stubbs was dismissed for a second bookable offence. Kyrell Malcolm equalised for Salford, sending the tie to penalties, where goalkeeper Will Brook produced a string of saves to help Shrewsbury secure a 4-3 shootout victory.

Their Sky Bet League Two campaign began at Prenton Park last Saturday, where they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Tranmere Rovers.

Gavin Cowan’s side made a positive start and created several opportunities during the opening half, but Jordan Davies put Tranmere ahead in the 35th minute.

Charlie Whitaker doubled the hosts’ advantage on the counter-attack after the interval. Shrewsbury continued to press and created late chances, but they were unable to find a way past goalkeeper Harrison Male.

Town will now be hoping to respond as they play their first home league fixture of the new season.

Shrewsbury Town’s last five results:

Tranmere Rovers 2-0 Shrewsbury Town (League Two)

Salford City 1-1 Shrewsbury Town – Shrewsbury won 4-3 on penalties (Carabao Cup)

Shrewsbury Town 3-2 Aston Villa XI (Pre-Season Friendly)

Shrewsbury Town 0-1 West Bromwich Albion (Pre-Season Friendly)

Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Everton U21s (Pre-Season Friendly)

In the dugout:

Gavin Cowan will lead Shrewsbury Town from the dugout this weekend.

The former defender represented the likes of Nuneaton Borough, Kidderminster Harriers, AFC Telford United and Shrewsbury Town during his playing career.

Cowan has looked to put his own stamp on the squad over the summer, welcoming several new arrivals to the Croud Meadow, including Arkell Jude-Boyd, Isaac Fletcher, Josh Davison, Byron Pendleton, Jack Price and Jay Turner-Cooke.

His side have primarily operated in a 3-4-1-2 formation during the opening weeks of the campaign, with Isaac Fletcher playing behind the attacking partnership of George Lloyd and Josh Davison.

One to watch:

Josh Davison will be one of the main threats for the Bees to keep an eye on this Saturday.

The forward joined Shrewsbury during the summer and has made an encouraging start to life in Shropshire.

Davison scored twice during Town’s 3-2 pre-season victory against an Aston Villa XI before opening his competitive account on his debut against Salford City in the Carabao Cup.

The 26-year-old provides pace, power and a strong physical presence at the top end of the pitch and will be hoping to open his league account in Shrewsbury’s first home fixture of the campaign.

Last time these two sides met:

The Bees last visited the Croud Meadow in January, when the two sides played out a goalless draw in Sky Bet League Two.

Barnet controlled large periods of the contest and created the better opportunities but were unable to turn their dominance into a winning goal.

Former Bee Ryan Glover went closest during the first half, forcing now Barnet shot stopper Matthew Cox into an excellent save with a powerful effort.

The Bees continued to apply pressure after the interval, with Idris Kanu and Danny Collinge both going close, but Shrewsbury held firm to ensure the points were shared.

Dean Brennan’s side will be looking to go one better this weekend and continue their positive start to the new season.

COYB