Steve Cotterill delighted half-time goals were reached after win over Cheltenham
Posted Sunday, December 19, 2021 by PA
Steve Cotterill took great delight in ticking off his half-time goals after his 10 men defeated Cheltenham 3-1 in League One to maintain their impressive home record thanks to Daniel Udoh’s double.
The Shrews were on level terms at half-time but had seen young forward Tom Bloxham sent off for violent conduct in the 40th minute.
“I wrote a dozen things up on the board at half-time, but number one was ‘don’t get beat’ and number two was ‘win the game’,” Cotterill said.
“When I went back into the dressing room after the game, the boys told me to tick them off and each tick got a big cheer.
“It was an incredible effort from them and if there was any doubt about the team spirit here, which I don’t think there has been, but just in case, that’s firmly put to bed now.”
Cotterill encouraged all of his players to have their Covid-19 jabs immediately after the game, before giving them a few days off to rest up ahead of the festive fixtures.
“Our lads are, as we speak, having either second injections or boosters now,” he said.
“We still have some who don’t want to have it done. I’ve told them to be extra careful again, with masks. They’ve been sent home with testing kits and they need to keep on top of that.
“We are shutting them down for three or four days now because I felt really rough after my third jab.”
Udoh, who scored in the Shrews’ 2-1 defeat at Cheltenham less than a month ago, opened the scoring in the 10th minute, finding space in the box to nod in Bloxham’s cross from the right.
Andy Williams equalised for Cheltenham six minutes later, tapping in at the end of a neat passing move involving Dan Crowley, Alfie May, Kyle Joseph and Liam Sercombe.
Young forward Bloxham was given his marching orders after an altercation with Chris Hussey five minutes before half-time, while the Robins full-back escaped with a caution.
Udoh restored Shrewsbury’s lead in the 48th minute, capitalising on a wayward pass from Cheltenham’s Ellis Chapman after Josh Vela’s burst through midfield.
David Davis powered through the middle and beat Owen Evans to make sure of the points in the 78th minute.
Cheltenham boss Michael Duff felt his team’s performance was positive, despite the final score.
“You have to take the positives out of today because I thought the reaction to going behind early was good,” he said.
“I also thought the performance was good to a certain point, but ultimately you need to take more chances and concede less.
“It’s not rocket science, it’s football. We will keep working hard, keep trying, keep pushing and doing the things we are working on.
“We got credited last year for how good the defensive record was and we don’t do anything different.
“Sometimes things go against you and sometimes you have a bit of bad luck. We had a bit of both today.”
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