Shrewsbury Town 1-1 Coventry - match analysis and pictures

At full-time they could feel slightly aggrieved not to have taken all three points such was the transformation.

"We just had to change things at half-time because we were so poor in the first half when we had the ball," admitted Shrewsbury manager Graham Turner after a thoroughly entertaining 1-1 draw.

And change things he did, with new signing Curtis Main creating a swift equaliser for striker Tom Bradshaw within three minutes of his introduction for fellow Middlesbrough loanee Adam Reach.

That 48th-minute goal then provided the spark for a real purple patch for the hosts which saw them go close to turning the scoreline on its head.

Main, who arrived from Boro just a day earlier, nodded only fractionally over the bar from Joe Jacobson's excellent free-kick. And Aaron Wildig missed a glorious chance soon afterwards, having been put one-on-one with Coventry keeper Joe Murphy by Jon Taylor's brilliant through ball only to chip over the bar.

Coventry, too, had their chances after the break, and finished slightly in the ascendancy.

But Sky Blues manager Steven Pressley admitted that a point from this game was no bad result for his usually-free-scoring side who were given several scares in the second half.

At half-time he could have been forgiven for thinking this would be a routine away win.

Town had been well aware of their opponents' goal-scoring prowess – 15 goals in four league games – prior to kick-off. And yet it took the visitors less than four minutes to find the net at the Greenhous Meadow.

Town had put together a couple of promising passing moves by this time, but Callum Wilson, who had scored in all five of Coventry's previous games this season, made it six in six with a predatory finish on the counter-attack.

The Sky Blues broke quickly and a superb defence-splitting pass from Carl Baker put Wilson in on goal. And he rounded Town custodian Chris Weale with ease before slotting into the unguarded net.

It was a real hammer blow to Town, who would have been hoping to keep things tight early on against such a prolific opponent.

And they then had to weather a first-half storm as the visitors went in search of a second.

Weale was a busy man in the first 45, denying goal-scorer Wilson a second as well as saving efforts from Leon Clarke and Franck Moussa, who all tried their luck from long range.

And he also had to be alert after skipper Tamika Mkandawire played a slightly short back pass to him which he raced out to clear in the nick of time.

When they did have the ball, Town's passing left a lot to be desired as they toiled in vain for a foothold in the game.

One positive from the first half was the display of Ryan Woods, who retained his position at right-back following last weekend's heroics against Rotherham United.

Turner admitted it had not been a hard decision to retain after that display and Woods picked up where he had left off with a commanding and composed performance.

And while there were few chances for him to show his ability at the other end of the pitch before the break, he still found the time and space to create one gilt-edged opportunity.

The 19-year-old showed great desire to chase down what looked like a lost cause on the right flank before clipping over an excellent cross which neither Reach or Taylor could quite connect with in the box.

Had either done so they would surely have been celebrating their second goal of the season.

But that aside Coventry were looking comfortable as their sizable following of almost 1,600 fans emphasised by cheering every completed pass.

With only half an hour gone, and given Coventry's penchant for conceding almost as frequently as they score, such celebrations came across as more than a tad premature.

But the Greenhous Meadow had been largely silenced until Luke Summerfield fizzed a decent long range effort just over the bar from 25-yards just before half time.

In truth, though, Town had not tested a very vulnerable backline anywhere near enough and quite clearly needed to freshen things up.

Main's arrival certainly did that, although Coventry should have been 2-0 up within a minute of the restart.

Wilson danced his way into the box and then teed-up Clarke for what looked like a certain goal only for Darren Jones to somehow make the block.

And it proved a crucial turning point as Town then equalised and bossed the majority of the second half from there on.

They stroked the ball around with far more purpose, and it was the turn of the home fans to cheer each completed pass early into the second half.

Coventry remained a threat, though, and Wilson really should have put them back in front with 19 minutes left. But he just couldn't quite get the required touch on Cyrus Christie's right-wing cross.

Substitute Billy Daniels and John Fleck also went close with Weale showing sharp reactions to deny both late on.

Mkandawire also produced an excellent block to deny Wilson.

In the three minutes of additional time, having survived those scares, Town seemed quite content to keep the ball and settle for a point.

But at full-time the home supporters could be proud of their team's resilient response to what had been a disappointing first half.

What's more, they are the only team in six matches to keep Coventry down to one goal and that steeliness should serve them well.