Ben's thoughts following the defeat away to Rochdale
Shrewsbury Town midfielder Ben Godfrey has backed his side to bounce back quickly following the 3-1 SkyBet League One defeat at Rochdale on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Norwich loanee played the full 90 minutes on his return from injury, as despite an early Town goal from Nathan Thomas, the home side struck back through Oliver Rathbone, Steven Davies and Ian Henderson to claim all three points.
“It’s a tough one to take for all of us, there were important points to pick up, but we won’t let it break us,” Godfrey told reporters.
“We’re a competitive bunch of lads, so we’re never satisfied, especially after today, we don’t want to settle for where we are in the league, we always want to do better.
“We’ve been written off all season to be honest, no-one wants to talk about Shrewsbury despite being top of the league, beating every team, so we’re happy to be the underdogs.”
Thomas’ second Salop goal represented the perfect start for Paul Hurst’s side, but Godfrey admitted he and his team-mates should have done more over the course of the game, while paying tribute to Toto Nsiala, who was stretchered off midway through the first half.
“We started quickly, as we’ve done a few times this season,” Godfrey said. “But it doesn’t finish after 10 minutes – it’s a 95 minute game – so although it was a good start, it doesn’t always get you the points.
“We’re a tight-knit group, and it’s never nice to see a team-mate come off the way that he did.
He’s obviously taken a nasty blow to the face, so we wish him a quick recovery, and I’ll be giving him a ring later tonight to make sure he’s okay.”
Godfrey himself had missed Town’s last two league games with a hamstring problem, and he also spoke of the pleasure he took from making his return to the pitch.
“It’s nice to be back out there, as a young player all you want to do is play, so having to watch from the sidelines the last few weeks hasn’t been ideal,” he said.
“I was ready and raring to come back today, [Chris] Skitty and the rest of the medical staff have done a miracle job with me to get me back, and from now I hope to stay fit for the rest of the season.
“I felt fine out there today, as I said the medical team did a really good job, so I really enjoyed being back on the pitch despite the result.”
Next up for third-placed Shrewsbury is an Easter Monday clash with Oxford United at the Montgomery Waters Stadium, and Godfrey gave his thoughts on them ahead of the game.
“Today has gone now, we just have to look forward to Monday, prepare right, recover right,” he added. “I’m sure we’ll come up against a tough side, but we’ll be ready for them.
“Since the [Checkatrade Trophy] semi-final was won, we’ve tried not to talk about Wembley too much, and stay focused on the league and we’ll continue to do that, because now we’ve got seven more games in the league to pick up points.”