A pretty disjointed performance.
I thought we started the first half brightly for ten minutes or so, but Shrewsbury gradually got control in midfield and the goal was not a surprise when it came. The absence of Nelson probably played a part, as Lang found himself unmarked in the left centre back position for the second time in a few minutes, although a lack of pressure on the ball in midfield was also a problem. In possession of the ball I thought we were sloppy for the remainder of the half, with possession given away far too cheaply in midfield. The second booking for Jennings was harsh but was indicative of our wider problems, and his own struggles at times this season: his first touch was poor, he did not have a picture of what was around him, and he lunged into a tackle to tray and retrieve a ball he had lost.
To give the players some credit, we regrouped after half time and did well to stay in the game with ten men: for the first ten to fifteen minutes of the half I thought we played some decent stuff, and genuinely looked like we might get back in the match. However, the substitutions, whether enforced or not, seemed to disrupt us, and we lost shape in midfield in the absence of Potter. Shrewsbury were far from scintillating, but had a degree of control in midfield that ultimately won them the match.
Individually, I thought Potter, Morris, Monthe and Ridehalgh had decent games and Payne was the better of the two strikers, with a couple of decent efforts on goal. However, we desperately need to get some of the senior injured players back, and doubts about the wider quality of the squad remain in a number of areas.
Not a catastrophe, as we are still outside the bottom three, but this season will surely be a long old slog.
