Yeovil Town rose up three places to third in the npower League One table with a hard fought 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town at Huish Park this afternoon.

James Hayter had put the side one up with a tenth minute penalty that was levelled out on twenty minutes  by Steve McGinn’s volley but the winner came just after the half hour when Paddy Madden struck his 23rd goal of the season. The second half was a quieter affair with neither side having too many chances though Marek Stech had to deal with a McGinn shot ten minutes from the end.

However at this stage of the season, results mean more than fluent performances and the Glovers now lie five points ahead of seventh placed Tranmere with the bonus of a game in hand as well with other results going Yeovil’s way this sunny afternoon.

It was no real surprise that manager Gary Johnson named an unchanged eleven from the side that beat Notts County 2-1 at Meadow Lane on Easter Monday. In the Shrewsbury ranks was Chris Weale, a welcome sight on the day that the club celebrated the tenth anniversary of their ascent into the Football League.

Shrewsbury started better with influential midfielder Matt Richards blazing over the crossbar from four yards out and forcing three corners in the first four minutes. And Jon Taylor should have scored when the ball was at his feet after a three-on-one break but Stech came out and blocked.

Yeovil took the lead on nine minutes when Byron Webster’s header towards goal from Matt Dolan’s corner was blocked by a Shrewsbury hand high in the air. Ref Oliver Langford pointed to the spot and James Hayter sent Weale the wrong way with a confident spot kick for his 14th goal of the campaign.

The lead didn’t last for long though as Shrewsbury levelled matters on twenty minutes. The ball came out to Steve McGinn and his swerving right foot volley left Stech helpless.

Yeovil then enjoyed a good spell with three good chances inside six minutes but failing to fully capitalise on their superiority. Madden went close twice, first shooting wide from Angelo Balanta’s ball into the channel then stretching to head a Webster through ball. Hayter then sidefooted a shot at Weale from the edge of the box as the half hour mark arrived.

On 32 minutes came the eventual winner. Hayter controlled well and laid the ball off to strike partner Madden who fired a stunning 25-yarder into the bottom corner for his 23rd of the prolific season. He nearly added a second soon after but was challenged just as he tried getting on the end of  another Balanta ball in.

The second half saw little in the way of real goalmouth action at either end as the game seemed once more to be who could deal with the quirky, tricky pitch. Richards went close with a long range effort and loan striker Tom Eaves shot over after creating himself an opportunity with some clever footwork.

Weale saved from Balanta as the Glovers got a rare sight of the goal but in truth, the second period was a shadow of the first in terms of excitement. Stech had to be smart to get down and deny McGinn’s shot and he also dealt comfortably with another effort from Eaves with nine minutes to go.

The final few minutes passed without incident and the Glovers continue their rise up the third tier table with four games to go.