From Flying Kiwis. Hopefully he gets a run against Leeds in the League Cup Thursday morena.
STFC head coach Matt Taylor:
“Max was a player we've spoken about for the past three weeks and I went over to Ireland to watch him. We'd like to thank the chairman for facilitating that and Max's transfer over from Ireland. I was very impressed with what I saw. He has exceptional footballing intelligence, scores a variation of goals, is hungry to fulfill his potential and we fought off a host of other clubs to get him. I'm excited for the fans to see him in a Shrewsbury Town shirt. He is of course very talented but more importantly, he's the right type of person to fit within the group.”
Shrewsbury Town finished mid-table in League One last term. 12 out of 24 teams. This will be their ninth consecutive season in the division so they’re a very stable club. Never been higher than the second tier of English football but have existed since 1890. Most of their signings this offseason have been defensive which should help Mata ease on into his new club... and match fitness won’t be an issue since the Irish season began in February meaning he’ll be at mid-season levels from week one. It’s going to be a long year of footy for him though. Especially with further All Whites trips likely.
https://youtu.be/KtmVyFYaaJEThis is the third year in a row that Sligo Rovers’ top scorer has been sold. The Bit’O’Red have particularly made a habit of dealing with League One clubs... in fact the striker that Mata served his apprenticeship under last term, Aidan Keena, now plays for Cheltenham whom the Shrews coincidentally met on opening weekend. Also, Shrewsbury Town are in the same EFL Trophy group as Forest Green Rovers so there could be some Max Mata vs Jamie Searle battles incoming.
Despite getting the signing completed prior to the match, Max Mata wasn’t able to feature in Shrewsbury Town’s season opener though. Still gotta sort out that visa so he missed the 1-0 win over Cheltenham. Ryan Bowman scored the only goal early in the second half. Hopefully he’s ready for the League Cup match midweek.
Up Next: Leeds United vs Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Cup at 6.45am on Thursday; then Stevenage vs Shrewsbury Town in League One at 2am on Sunday (NZT)