Graham Turner's thoughts after the 0-0 draw at Scunthorpe
Shrewsbury’s unbeaten run was extended to seven games this afternoon after a battling performance at Scunthorpe’s Glanford Park. Graham Turner was pleased with another shut out as the side’s shared the points in a goalless draw which might have been settled in injury time but for two superb saves from both goalkeepers.
“The last 10 minutes saw the game finally come to life because what went before it was largely a ploddy affair,” he said. “The important thing for us was to make sure we took something from the game and another clean sheet was pleasing. We allowed them a little bit too much room at times but in the last 10 minutes we had some good opportunities. Their keeper made a fantastic late save to keep the ball out. It was a really well hit shot going just inside the post and I was right behind it and couldn’t see how he managed to keep it out. A point here given all the circumstances isn’t a bad result. We’ve gone 6 games in 22 days and we’re unbeaten in those with clean sheets in each of the last three games. It’s been quite a pleasing period and we’re in a position now where we can strengthen it. I think Steve McGinn can add something to the squad – he added a bit of pace when he came on today, so things are looking a lot better than they were a couple of months ago.”
Turner paid tribute to his goalkeeper Chris Weale on the back of those clean sheets – it’s now 315 minutes since Town last shipped a goal: “Chris is a good goalkeeper there’s no doubt about that and we’re lucky to have him playing for us in the First Division as he’s a Championship quality keeper. He’s enjoying his football, he’s very professional and very conscientious.”
Town’s attacking options were limited today with Scunthorpe working hard to limit the supply as GT explained: “We had a few leggy players out there and we didn’t pass the ball particularly well,” he said. “But we found it hard to get hold of stuff as they were tight at the back and we didn’t give our front players enough service and the ball kept coming back at us. It was one of those days where our passing was off and sometimes we didn’t look for it which was disappointing and we allowed them to dictate to us what we did with the ball and perhaps could have been more aggressive with it, but in the last 10-15 minutes we suddenly livened up a bit with our forward play and I think both the substitutes (Bradshaw and McGinn) had a hand in that. They both added a bit of momentum and a bit of pace to our play. Steve’s a good player. He had a good spell at St. Mirren and was going well at Watford until his injury and he will get fitter and stronger and will develop a match pace. He’s also capable of chipping in with a few goals so I have no doubt he will prove to be a good addition for us.”
There’s an eight point gap between Town and the bottom four and Graham was pleased to see a gap opening: “We’ve had one defeat in ten now,” he said. “There have been a few too many draws. We could have done with a few more wins but the sequence of results we’ve had should breed a bit of confidence into the players and show that they can handle this level of football.”