Shrewsbury Town aim to be the great entertainers
Boss John Askey insists he is aware Shrewsbury are in the entertainment business after his side produced an eye-catching display at Bristol City.
Town put in on stylish performance and were the better side in a 1-1 draw with Championship side City at Ashton Gate in their first public friendly of the summer.
Askey’s men, who cancelled out Callum O’Dowda’s early opener through Stefan Payne’s crisp finish on 17 minutes, played some attractive attacking football in front of around 50 visiting fans.
The visitors used 23 players at Ashton Gate, with new signings Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Alex Gilliead, Ryan Haynes, Fejiri Okenabirhie and Kieran Kennedy all being given a run out.
The boss said: “There was some good play, we created one or two chances and could’ve scored more than the one goal.
“We changed the organisation part way through the first-half because of the way they were playing and the players did that great. It limited them to very few opportunities after.
“Hopefully they (those moves) are a feature. I believe in playing. At the end of the day it’s an entertainment so you want to see excitement.
“Players have got to know when to play and when not to over-play. There’s times when you’ve got to go long once you’ve sucked teams in.
“I thought we did it well. It’s work in progress and hopefully supporters who came enjoyed it.”
Askey added: “I was very much happy with their attitude. You can’t ask any more of them during pre-season.
“I thought they showed that will to win and I was really pleased. It’s only pre-season, we shall not get carried away but the all the lads that played will take confidence and that’s the main thing.
“It’s great to see people make the trip down, they were vocal and seemed to enjoy it. That helps the players, they respond to that and appreciate people making that effort.”
Askey, whose name was chanted by Town fans in the first ‘open’ friendly this summer, joked about the blue and amber faithful singing his name come the end of the season.
He added: “It’s being able to sing my name at the end of the season! It’s nice to be welcomed.”
Trialist goalkeepers Steve Arnold and Ben Wilson and midfielder Doug Loft also featured. Arnold and Loft are expected to feature behind-closed-doors at Burnley tomorrow.
