Sam Ricketts praises Shrewsbury performance in his first League One win as boss
Posted Sunday, December 23, 2018 by PA
Sam Ricketts hailed the performance of his Shrewsbury side as he recorded his first League One victory thanks to Aaron Amadi-Holloway’s powerful header in a 1-0 victory over Coventry.
The striker broke the deadlock four minutes into the second half when he met Greg Docherty’s inviting free-kick to direct a header past visiting goalkeeper Lee Burge.
Ricketts, appointed boss of the Shropshire club earlier this month, said: “What I loved was the performance, especially first half. I thought we were excellent first half.
“The only bit that was missing was the final action, whether that be the pass, the shot, just putting the ball in the back of the net.
“Second half we got the goal and then a little bit of our mentality, you could see a team desperate to win a game then really, so the game became a little bit stretched.
“But what I’ve said many, many times is the will, desire and determination to win the game, you saw absolute effort from all the players which eventually got us over the line.”
Ricketts described the winning goal as “an excellent header” and added: “It’s something we work at, we want to get better at, so it’s nice when, for all the good play, a set-piece wins you the game.”
Shrewsbury created the better chances during a goalless first half.
Defender Luke Waterfall twice saw efforts cleared off the line, Josh Laurent drilled a shot over the crossbar and Anthony Grant also saw a well-struck drive deflected narrowly over.
Coventry’s best opportunity came at the start of the second half when Luke Thomas saw a shot well kept out by goalkeeper Steve Arnold at his near post.
The decisive goal from Amadi-Holloway, his third of the season, followed shortly afterwards.
Coventry manager Mark Robins said: “We couldn’t get a foothold in the game in the first half, so just made some adjustments, and in the second half it’s a lot better. It’s a lot better because we passed the ball.
“When I say it’s a lot better, it was a lot better than the first half and it still wasn’t at the level that we need to be at.
“They’ve got to stick together, they’ve got to get together, we all have, and make sure that we come back strong on Boxing Day.”
Coventry have not won since beating Doncaster 2-1 on October 27. Liam Kelly went closest to an equaliser when his late effort flew over the bar.
Robins added: “The things we’ve done this week, the work they’ve done on the training ground, has looked good.
“What they can’t afford to do is become training ground players and not being able to transfer it, which is what we’ve said in there.”
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