Dave Edwards reflects on Town's Emirates FA Cup loss to Liverpool.
Shrewsbury Town’s trip to Anfield ended in disappointment as Salop couldn’t progress past the Reds into the fifth-round of the Emirates FA Cup.
A second-half own-goal from Town was the difference between the two sides, as the young Liverpool side earned a fifth-round fixture with Chelsea.
Town midfielder Dave Edwards was disappointed with the result and was frustrated that his team couldn’t send the 8000 Salop fans home happy. He said: “Personally, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so disappointed on a football pitch before.
“Seeing so many Shrewsbury fans there, they were incredible from when we walked out to the very, very end when we walked in.
“I am so proud of them and so disappointed we didn’t give them anything to shout about. We were really poor in the first-half. We had tactics to play to but didn’t implement them well.
“We were too passive, let them build up too much confidence and they are good players. They moved the ball around well, were full of energy and intensity and we couldn’t quite match that.
“We started the second-half well, then they had a spell and with the VAR goal – it went from elation to sucking the life away from us. The overriding feeling is the responsibility of letting these travelling fans down.
“Even though it was a young team, we went into it with the same game plan. We didn’t want to chase them around early because they are all good footballers. I think we gave them probably a bit too much.
“We couldn’t really challenge them on the ball, we were always five or 10 yards off. We needed to be braver and have a higher line - we lacked composure on the ball.
“We didn’t play anywhere near to what we are capable of. Maybe the pressure of the game affected us. You want to play in these stadiums and want to play in these occasions - we didn’t handle it well.
“I felt a real responsibility to deliver for the fans last night. There were 8000 of them there on a Tuesday night. I can't speak highly enough of the support. We need to react at the Meadow on Saturday and put on a show.”