Boss Graham Turner has urged his Shrewsbury Town team to use the late leveller against Cheltenham as a launchpad to produce a Christmas cracker of a festive period.

Town looked destined for their first home defeat of the campaign as they trailed 1-0 at the Greenhous Meadow on Saturday.

But a late equaliser from Tom Bradshaw – after a shot from Shane Cansdell-Sherriff struck his back – rescued a point.

And Turner is now looking for his side to carry that momentum through to the Christmas programme which – after next weekend’s trip to Oxford – brings four games in nine days from Boxing Day.

“It was vital because the equaliser keeps the mood in the camp,” said the Town boss.

“It doesn’t disguise any shortcomings but it keeps the buoyancy about the camp that we are unbeaten at home.

“Things change rapidly over the Christmas period and if you can get a run over that four games in nine days, the League table can change quite dramatically.

“We are handily placed. Even though we have gone down a place (to fifth), we are not unhappy with where we are.”

Turner admitted there was some evidence of Town’s 18-day inactivity which has also seen their training programme affected by the weather, but he was satisfied with a point.

“I thought we started the game extremely well,” added Turner.

“After that, there were one or two mis-placed passes.

“We haven’t been able to get on full sized pitches so the movement wasn’t as good as it might have been.

“But the second half performance was very acceptable under a little bit of pressure.

“All in all, we have to be satisfied with the point and we can get better.”

On-loan midfielder Andrew Tutte missed the game through back spasms.

By JAMES GARRISON