BATTLING Cherries enhanced their survival chances this afternoon by securing a vital 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town at Dean Court.

Eddie Howe’s men closed the gap on their League Two rivals after Brett Pitman’s 23rd-minute goal direct from a corner earned them maximum points.

Despite enjoying the majority of the play in the first half, Cherries were made to work hard for the win as high-flying Shrewsbury piled on the pressure after the break.

As the visitors went in search of an equaliser, they had defender Darren Moss sent off for a foul on goalscorer Pitman.

Goalkeeper David Button, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, paid the price for his costly errors in last weekend’s draw at Lincoln, with boss Howe recalling Shwan Jalal to the Cherries side.

The only other change was in midfield, as Sammy Igoe came in for the injured Mark Molesley, who was ruled out with a back problem.

New signings Anton Robinson and Liam Feeney had to make do with a place on the bench.

The match, which was given the go-ahead following a second pitch inspection at 11am this morning, started slowly for Cherries as the visitors settled well.

And Paul Simpson’s men, with just one league win away from home all season, should have taken the lead after six minutes.

Rhoys Wiggins lost possession in a dangerous position and the ball was moved to the right where Grant Holt delivered a low cross for strike partner Nick Chadwick.

The Shrewsbury forward, well placed eight yards from goal, should have scored but he sent his shot over the bar under pressure from the Cherries defence.

Shrewsbury, who went into the game in sixth place in League Two, continued their bright start and forced Jalal into action on 11 minutes.

Steve Leslie latched on to a Holt knockdown to fire in a firm left-foot drive from 20 yards, which Jalal did well to hold on to.

Cherries’ hopes were not helped when they were forced into a substitution six minutes later.

Joel Ward, impressive at right-back in recent weeks, was carried from the field on a stretcher after falling awkwardly. He was replaced by debutant Robinson, the deadline day signing from Weymouth.

But despite their slow start, Cherries sprang to life and opened the scoring in the 23rd minute.

In-form frontman Pitman was the man claiming it after his inswinging corner beat everyone, including Steve Fletcher and Jake Thomson who were standing in front of the goalkeeper, to land in the far corner of the net.

The goal settled Cherries down and they began to enjoy a better spell, with Danny Hollands in the middle of the park particularly impressive, while left-back Wiggins was once again showing signs of his quality.

For all their attacking intentions, though, Cherries struggled to break down an organised Shrewsbury side until five minutes before the interval.

A neat one-two deep in Shrewsbury territory released the lively Pitman on the right of the visitors’ penalty area, but his dangerous low cross was cut out by Michael Jackson.

Cherries were given a warning on the stroke of half-time that the visitors were still well and truly in the game when captain Ben Davies came within inches of an equaliser.

The midfielder, who scored twice when Shrewsbury defeated Cherries 4-1 back in October, tried his luck from 25 yards but his fierce left-foot shot flew just over, skimming the top of the net with Jalal beaten.

Pitman ensured the hosts ended the half on the front foot when he forced Jackson to bring him down 30 yards from goal after showing a good burst of pace.

The defender was rightly booked but Pitman couldn’t manage a repeat of his magical strike against Wycombe as he sent the free-kick high over Luke Daniels’s goal.

Pitman was immediately involved as the second half got under way as he missed a glorious opportunity to double Cherries’ advantage.

Robinson did brilliantly to work an opening on the right wing and Thomson fed Pitman who, having escaped his marker, wastefully sent his left-foot shot into the crowd.

As Cherries continued to press forward, Pitman again missed the target when attempting an inventive scissor kick from Thomson’s deep and accurate cross.

With the game opening up, Shrewsbury demonstrated their willingness to attack by going close on three occasions, as Holt failed to get a shot in from close range before the forward and Terry Dunfield both fired wide from long range.

Shrewsbury boss Simpson threw both Dave Hibbert and Richard Walker on in the hope of getting back into the game and it almost worked, with the play-off contenders going close on 72 minutes.

Leslie sent in a near-post corner and Moss’s flick header bounced onto the top of the crossbar and over.

Cherries were now almost permanently being made to play from deep in their own half and they switched to a five-man midfield as the visitors began to gain the upper hand.

Struggling to keep possession and unable to find a way of relieving the pressure, Cherries were being made to work extremely hard to keep hold of their slim lead.

Despite their dominance, Shrewsbury failed to create clear chances until injury time, when Davies had a decent penalty appeal turned down and Holt fired narrowly over the bar.

But Cherries stood firm for the victory, which was made even better by Grimsby Town failing to defeat Exeter.

Cherries: (4-4-2) Jalal; Ward (Robinson, 16), Cooper, Pearce, Wiggins; Thomson (Feeney, 88), Bartley, Hollands, Igoe (Cummings, 82); Fletcher, Pitman. Unused subs: Goulding, Button.

Booked: Cooper

Shrewsbury Town: (4-4-2) Daniels; Moss, Jackson, Coughlan, Ashton; Humphrey (Walker, 70), Davies, Dunfield (Cansdell-Sherriff, 81), Leslie; Chadwick (Hibbert, 65), Holt. Unused subs: Pugh, Langmead.

Booked: Jackson, Cansdell-Sherriff, Coughlan, Holt

Sent off: Moss

Referee: Richard Beeby (Northamptonshire)

Attendance: 4,187