Sam Ricketts reflects on Town's win over Walsall.
Shrewsbury Town earned a 2-1 win over Walsall in the Checkatrade Trophy this evening.
The win saw Town progress into the next round of the Checkatrade Trophy in Sam Ricketts’ first game as the Town manager.
Sam was pleased with the result, despite making 10 changes and was pleased with the effort from his team
“It’s the perfect start isn’t it, to win the game,” said Sam. “But it’s not about me, it’s about the team and their momentum.
“Players got game time today, who haven’t necessarily had it recently – it was really important for them.
“It’s six from the last seven now, which keeps that momentum going and keeps it building.
“It was a real good performance with some real quality and plenty of hunger and desire, which pleases me more than anything.
“The two goals were really good goals and we could have had more as well. We had really good opportunities.
“They probably ran out of steam a little bit with 10 or 15 minutes to go, but their effort didn’t drop off.
“They still put their bodies in the way, they were still running as hard as they could and that pleases me more than anything.”
Sam was pleased with the win and felt the game was a good opportunity to assess his squad.
“It was a really good opportunity for me to see some players who haven’t been playing recently,” said Sam.
“It was their opportunity for them to get minutes and to show me and the rest of the staff what they can do.
“We are getting into that period now where we will need players and more than just the 11 that start on the Saturday.
“There are an awful lot of players who are going to be needed.
“This is a competition we want to do well in and it is an opportunity to play players who haven’t been playing recently.
“It shows we have a really good group of players who are good enough to go and win us the game - against a decent side.”