Sam Ricketts reflects on Town's 1-1 draw against Bradford
Shrewsbury Town welcomed Sky Bet League Two Bradford City to the Montgomery Waters Meadow for the first-round of the FA Cup.
Despite Town forcing an equaliser in the first-half through Josh Laurent, Salop were unable to build on the goal to find a winner and now face an away trip to Valley Parade.
Sam Ricketts feels his team slightly lacked the cutting edge and felt a draw was a fair result.
“I think today we huffed and we puffed but couldn’t get that winning goal,” said Sam. “We gave them a goal but got back into the game. I thought for large parts of the game, it was there for the taking.
“It became one of those cup ties where it was end-to-end, both sides wanted to win it and both were going for the win.
“We left ourselves open defensively a little bit but as the game went on we had the better chances - unfortunately, nothing quite fell for us. Dave Edwards missed one by a stud length.
“I think you have to give Bradford some credit. They are a side who are on a good run – they have won four out of their last five. With that momentum, you have to respect them.
“I did think at times the game was there for us. Little decisions cost us and defensively - which is unlike us. With the ball, we never quite hit top gear. We tried but we had no luck. We couldn’t turn that possession into chances”
Sam was disappointed with the goal conceded and felt his team should have been defensively resolute.
“It was a little mistake, a lapse of individual concentration. These things happen,” said Sam. “The best thing was, Pierre didn’t let it affect him for the rest of the game – which is good.
“Mistakes happen, and when you’re a defender, those mistakes lead to a chance. You hope they don’t score but if they do, you just have to get on with it.
“It was a good passage of play that saw us get the goal. We couldn’t have done it a lot more than we did – especially in the first-half. It was a good cross by Shaun, good awareness by Scott to pick out Josh.
“It was a nice neat finish, I am delighted for Josh. I thought he was excellent today. When he runs, he glides to be fair to him. He can cover lots of ground and break away. We just lacked that little bit of cutting edge at the top.”