Graham Turner's thoughts after the 2-1 win over Carlisle
By Matt Johnson
Town gaffer Graham Turner breathed a huge sigh of relief as his side claimed a vital three points in a 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Carlisle to move out of the League One drop zone.
A superb individual effort from Jon Taylor had given the Shrews the lead before a swift Cumbrains counter-attack levelled things up at the break. Paul Parry’s flying volley was enough to clinch the win in an unsurprisingly tight and gritty fixture.
“I think that we’ve played well recently in some of the games without taking points and getting our just rewards, but today it was a hard struggle,” said Turner.
“We played against a side that was intent on pressing us high up the pitch and that never gave us a moment on the ball and that caused us a fair amount of anxiety at times. But in the end the most important thing for us is the result and the confidence that brings.”
The high-flying form of wing-wonder Taylor continued with a second goal in as many matches, and Turner admitted his delight with the 20-year-old’s contributions, but he was left bitterly disappointed with the manner in which his team conceded the equaliser.
“Jon Taylor is having a real good spell; he looks as though he’s capable of scoring again now. He gets himself into good positions and the finish today, just to take the full-back on and open himself up for a yard of space then hit a terrific strike was brilliant.
“It was disappointing though that we got caught from our own set piece for their equaliser after we’d taken the lead against the run of play – you’ve got to learn to kill sides off at this level, but the only thing that counts is the three points.”
Along with almost 5,000 watching Salopians, Turner’s heart was in his mouth heading into the final ten minutes given Town’s unenviable habit of conceding late goals, but he admitted that getting over the line was his only priority.
“You just think back to the pattern that we’ve had recently, of conceding goals late on for equalisers and winners against us and that’s been a pattern all season. Therefore there is an anxiety, not so much in the technical area, but on the pitch.
“We could be using the ball a bit better breaking out, but because of the record over recent matches, and what we’re trying to achieve, the anxiety is there, but in the end the lads have come through it and got the result and we’ve got to build on this now.”