Gavin Cowan: Shrewsbury Town ‘disappointed’ with point at Crewe

Shrewsbury Town manager Gavin Cowan was left "disappointed" after his side's first away league point of the season, believing they should have beaten Crewe at the Mornflake Stadium.

Salop went 1-0 down in the 24th minute when Jordan Gibson headed beyond goalkeeper Will Brook.

They responded just before half-time, when George Lloyd seized on a mistake by Crewe defender Luke Offord to make it 1-1.

Neither side could find a winner, and the match ended all square.

Rather than being satisfied with a first point on the road this season, Cowan was frustrated that his side didn't take all three.“I feel like it should have been three,” Cowan reflected.

“When you have 21 shots, and the number of chances we had and the domination of the game, we should win the game.

“We are really pleased with what was a full performance. Our press was excellent and our bravery to get on the ball in their half was fantastic.

“There was full commitment from the players. Obviously, to lose three players in training the day before was really rough, so credit to the lads who came in - they equipped themselves really well.

“We are really full from the performance, as everyone would have seen there it was very dominant. But both boxes, the first goal for them after we have spent 23 minutes in their half setting the tone, and they have an attack and score we are disappointed with that.

“We are equally disappointed as we have worked on fast attacks all week, so we are disappointed not to come away with a win.

“One of our sayings is there is no time for disappointment. You have to be resilient, and I thought the players were - it was the least we deserved to get back into the game.

“There is not much else to say. I feel like it was a fully dominant performance. Look at all of the stats, I am not a stats guy, but the staff and the analysts love throwing it at me.

“It is very similar to the whole season, in a lot of the games, we have been very very competitive. We are growing as a team, which you can clearly see but we just need to be more ruthless in that box.”

Lloyd’s goal was his first of the season and his first goal in a league game since his effort in the 3-1 win against Swindon back in February this year.

And the Shrews boss feels that is the striker's just reward for the effort and commitment he puts in.

“He is a real team player,” Cowan said. “I am really pleased for him. He totally deserves that, he is fully committed.

“He led the line brilliantly again today. We understand we want him to score more goals. He knows that, but that is a great start for him so hopefully he can go on a run because his performances in and out of possession have been excellent, like the majority of the players.”