Shrewsbury Town v Plymouth Argyle, 12 September 2000

Plymouth's return of only five points from their first seven games left them in disarray as they plummeted to the depths of the Football League they had only previously experienced in the opening weeks of 1995/96. Meanwhile, rampant Shrewbury moved into the top ten for the first time since October 1996. Having to overcome the problems of the national fuel crisis, loyal fans who made the trip from Devon saw Argyle soon fall behind when Sean McCarthy deflected Chris Freestone's angled drive into his own goal. Following their impressive display against Darlington at the weekend, Kevin Ratcliffe's charges took total control; the only surprise being that it took them to the fringe of the interval to go further ahead. Mickey Brown crossed from the right for Nigel Jemson to wrong foot Jon Sheffield with a clever header. Further goals from Brown - a glancing header from Sam Aiston's left wing corner - and Jemson - a right footed shot from 20 yards after Aiston combined with Freestone - merely piled on the Argyle agony. The Pilgrims gained some consolation when Jason Peake's sterling efforts were rewarded. The stylish midfielder also scored from 20 yards as he steered a low right footer inside the far post. A miserable night for the visitors ended on a low though when Adam Barrett saw his second yellow card.