Steve Cotterill reflects on Town's Sky Bet League One narrow away loss against Portsmouth.
Shrewsbury Town's evening in Portsmouth ended with the Shrews leaving Fratton Park after a narrow 1-0 loss.
An early goal from Ryan Tunnicliffe was the difference between the two sides as Pompey secured all three points at home.
Town's Manager was disappointed with the result but felt encouraged by Town's performance against a strong side.
On the result:
"I thought we were excellent tonight," said Town's Manager. "I have no criticism and I am really proud of the lads. There are loads of positives we can take from tonight's game going forward into the season. This a really difficult place to come but I thought we were excellent all around.
"The lads showed a real reaction from how we performed in the last fixture. If we keep performing like that, the wins will be just around the corner. I think we were very good against a team who will be fancied for promotion. There were some outstanding performances and some great saves from their keeper.
"If we play like we did on Saturday, the results won't come. If we carry on performing like we did tonight, the wins will come."
On Sam Cosgrove and Tom Bloxham's contributions:
"Sam hasn't played any football but I thought he started the game really brightly. He dipped off towards half-time but that happens when you haven't played any games. He re-charged at half-time and went right until the very end then. The biggest disappointment for us with Sam was not having him sooner. He could have been up to speed with the rest of the boys. We have to be patient and we finally got him which I'm pleased about.
"Tom Bloxham is a young player and he did a lot of work for the team tonight. He's 17, playing in the first-team and playing in a stadium like this - I am really pleased with his progress."
