Danny Cowley: Portsmouth lacked the quality to break down Shrewsbury

Posted Sunday, October 30, 2022 by PA

Danny Cowley bemoaned Portsmouth’s lack of attacking quality after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Shrewsbury.

Zak Swanson’s first senior goal salvaged a point for Pompey, but Cowley was frustrated not to take all three.

Head coach Cowley said: “Like anyone who is associated with this club, it is frustrating. It was a one-sided game.

“We dominated possession and I don’t think I’ve rarely seen a more one-sided game.

“We conceded a really poor goal from their only shot on target. We’ve done that three times recently at home now. Fleetwood, Oxford, and now Shrewsbury.

“We responded well to their goal, but offensively we lacked guile and creativity. They played 5-4-1, sitting people behind the ball, which they are entitled to do.

“But we need to be good enough to overcome that and we didn’t have the quality.”

Swanson struck to cancel out Elliott Bennett’s goal against his former club.

Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill said: “It’s an excellent away point for us. We’ve had two tough journeys this week, Plymouth on Tuesday and now here, very difficult back-to-back games.

“I thought the boys were incredible on the back of the week we’ve had.

“The energy we showed in that second half, putting in block after block and putting our bodies on the line.

“You can’t do that without a good team spirit. They should be proud of themselves.

“This is a tough place to come, especially with the fans behind them.

“Maybe with a bit more legs – a bit more energy and a couple of more experienced players in the team, the outcome would have been better.

“It was a good finish from Elliott Bennett, and I’m pleased for him.

“We had Aiden O’Brien and Julian Costa amongst others who were unavailable, so enormous credit to those in the dressing room right now.”