"We've had enough opportunities to win a couple of games" - Michael Appleton rues missed opportunities as Shrewsbury suffer nightmare before Christmas
Shrewsbury Town boss Michael Appleton felt his side created enough chances to win multiple games during their 1-0 defeat to Chesterfield.
The Salop boss cut a frustrated figure while completing his post-match media duties after watching his side dominate large parts of the afternoon, only to come away with nothing after Lee Bonis' 61st minute strike.
After five home games without defeat before the clash with the Spireites it looked like Town had turned a corner on their poor home form, but the loss at the hands of Paul Cook's side brought back painful memories of the 11 home defeats in 2025 prior.
"It is frustrating, and that's just stating the obvious," Appleton said. "We've dominated the opportunities in the game and it's a shame that we weren't ahead given the amount of opportunities that we had.
"We probably had two stonewall penalties turned down, especially when you look at a couple of the penalties that we've conceded lately, so from that point of view it's really disappointing to lose a game of football against an opposition that had one shot on target and only took a couple of shots in the game. Will (Brook)'s not made a save.
"The first goal is massive no matter what level of football you're playing at, whether that's the Premier League, Champions League or National League.
"I felt we had to start quickly today, and I thought the way we played against Walsall last week sort of typified the way we started the game today.
"We're just unfortunate that we didn't have the composure and weren't clinical enough to go ahead in the game, and then again in the second half we've had loads of chances before and after they scored.
"Tommy (McDermott)'s had a couple, Sam Clucas has had another couple, and there's been some misfortune towards the end of the game.
"Look, you get judged on what you do in both boxes and ultimately we've had enough opportunities to win a couple of games today which we unfortunately didn't take."
Chesterfield scored with their only shot on target of the afternoon, which was another cause of frustration for the Salop boss.
"It was a good finish, but it was a little bit fortunate," Appleton said. "It's gone through one of our defender's legs when it really didn't look like we were in too much danger.
"(Lee Bonis) is obviously someone that they have paid a few quid for to bring him over from Ireland, and I think sometimes that extra bit of quality counts."
