Blog: It’s not all doom and gloom despite Town suffering their first league defeat of the new season, writes Shrewsbury Town blogger James Pugh.

Gillingham came back to haunt us again on Saturday following a little help from the referee and the fact that the players didn’t hit the standards they have shown so far this season.

My big worry following the 2-0 defeat is that Gillingham’s bullying tactics seemed to pay off and other teams may take note and follow suit for the rest of the season.

The referee certainly didn’t help matters by allowing Gillingham to get away with some blatant dirty play as well as award two harsh penalties in the opposition’s favour.

On the other side of the coin we can learn from this game and stop teams doing the same to us again.

It may sound strange but a defeat can often be a blessing in disguise for a team doing well as it can bring players back down to earth and stop them getting complacent.

Understandably Turner hasn’t made too many changes to his starting XI in the league following the success we have had so far. But a word of warning – it is a long season where fatigue can quickly settle in.

It may be worth the manager taking advantage of the quality players we have got on our bench and give them a start if other players feel they need a breather.

Next up for Town is a home game against a Northampton team who have hardly set the division a light so far this season and who have yet to win away.

Following Saturday’s disappointment it will be a big test for the players to see how they respond to suffering their first league defeat, which will give us a good indication of how good we actually are.