Shrewsbury Town boss Steve Cotterill spoke to the media after today’s fantastic win away at Burton Albion.
Town took the lead thanks to Tom Bloxham’s smart finish shortly before half-time and then gave themselves a two-goal cushion in the 59th minute when Matt Pennington bundled the ball over the line.
Salop played very well and were rarely troubled by their hosts, who struggled to put a strong attacking move together throughout the game.
Cotterill praised his side for their fantastic team performance at the Pirelli Stadium and thanked the fans for their support.
On the game:
“[It's] a fantastic win for us and what a performance on a tough pitch at a tough venue. They’ve played very well this season and that was a really awkward game for us coming here. It’s a great result, a great couple of goals and a great clean sheet considering the pressure you’re put under for corners and throw-ins. I thought we were great today and I’m really pleased for the players because we’ve done enough over recent weeks to win games and we haven’t won them, so I was really pleased for everybody connected with the football club as well. We had a great following too.
“You can’t get too much speed or too much zip on your passes [on Burton's pitch] and I think it becomes sapping as well and we were very mindful of that but we didn’t get ourselves into a position quick enough and early enough in the game where we could’ve made substitutions earlier. Overall it’s a great performance in terms of organisation, diligence, running forward, passing it when we could pass it, turning around when we needed to turn around, and most of all taking our chances when we had them.”
On Tom Bloxham:
“What you’ll remember today is the goal. I don’t think he was any better today, I thought his performance the other night for 70 minutes was probably better than it was today but obviously, the goal will stand out – Tom’s got that in him. The best thing you can ever give a young player is game time and I think Tom could come through and be very good for this club, whether he’s here for us or whether it’s the millions we would get for him in the transfer market – but I don’t want to put him in that bracket yet. [The quality of the finish] won’t come as a surprise to anyone who sees him in training day-to-day. I’m certainly not surprised – it’s a great finish – but I’m not surprised.”
On Matt Pennington’s goal:
“He stole it! Stole it off of Nursey [George Nurse] I think. I asked him when the game was still going on with about ten minutes to go and he gave me a wry smile and carried on so anyway, I’d have slid for it but as long as it gets over the line, we don’t mind who scores it.”
On the 928 travelling fans:
“They were brilliant. They were great, they were noisy, and when you give them something to cheer about they were even noisier so yeah, it was great to see them at the end and I’m sure they’ll all go home and enjoy their weekend.”
