Shrewsbury Town 0 Portsmouth 2: Five talking points
Shrewsbury Town were bettered by Portsmouth over the weekend, here are five talking points from the game...
Atmosphere
Strangely, it was a marked improvement on the toxicity from the stands seven days earlier when Town beat Wycombe!
It told you a lot about how well Sam Ricketts’ men did against a decent Portsmouth outfit. Town were very good in the opening half hour and edged the start of the second half.
After Pompey’s killer second, 11 minutes from time, the stadium emptied quickly – but there weren’t boos – and those that stayed clapped their team off.
Fans appreciate a good display, but results are all that count.
Errors
There is nothing Ricketts or any manager can do about individual errors.
The first goal was soft and avoidable, but Pompey’s second was a horror show.
Omar Beckles and Steve Arnold should probably share the blame as an unconvincing mix-up led to the keeper’s blocked clearance. Beckles has struggled for a few weeks and looks low on confidence while Arnold went off injured shortly afters.
Mistakes can be costly as Salop have found in recent weeks. It may be that we see changes as a result.
Whalley
He has been Town’s best player for a number of weeks now, possibly since coming back into the fold – having spent most of it in a more unfamiliar wing-back role.
Shaun Whalley was unleashed into an attacking role, playing just off forward Fejiri Okenabirhie and was a real thorn in Pompey’s side.
Whalley was the best player on the pitch, drew an outstanding stop from Craig MacGillivray and generally tormented the visiting backline, while linking well with the recalled Greg Docherty.
Those two need to stay together.
Confidence
The Wycombe victory was priceless in terms of points, but this one probably gave Town fans more confidence.
It was some of the best football Shrews have played under Ricketts, but the same old lack of ruthlessness cost Salop in both boxes.
Still, if Town can muster something like those displays in the seven remaining games they should be fine.
They have often raised it against big guns this season – it is time for better against the strugglers. Five of seven games left are drop-zone rivals.
Six-pointers
They’re all big games at this stage of the season, but a look at the table shows you the scale of Town’s next two games.
Shrews, sitting 19th, head to 20th-placed Southend on Saturday before the visit of 18th-placed Scunthorpe.
The Shrimpers – who this morning sacked Chris Powell – are dropping like a stone, winless in 11, with seven defeats, while struggling Iron have just sacked Stuart McCall.
Town must put these rivals to the sword, they need to find a way of being ruthless having spurned games against Rochdale, AFC Wimbledon and Plymouth.
