Shrewsbury Town hunt for a winning habit
Sam Ricketts wants Shrewsbury Town to become accustomed to winning games again after ending their barren spell with FA Cup success.
A 2-0 victory at League Two Cambridge saw Town into the hat for tonight’s second-round draw for the seventh season on the spin.
Charlie Daniels struck his first Shrewsbury goal just after half-time before a Brad Walker rocket late on wrapped up progression in Town’s first win at Abbey Stadium in 14 attempts to end a run of five games without a victory.
Ricketts, who has taken Salop to the fourth round in his two previous seasons in charge, said: “It wasn’t an easy game, coming away to a team who are right at the top of their league.
“We handled the freedom and confidence they are playing with and that said a lot about us that the players are able to do that and come away with a 2-0 victory.
“Certainly (confidence can be given a boost with the win), and getting used to being in that winning position and moving the ball and passing. Some aspects were very good and you never stop wanting to get better.
“There were some nice elements in the game that were really pleasing considering we only had 20 minutes working on it (the new shape) on Friday.”
Town lined up in a new 3-4-3 formation while receiving boosts on the injury front, with Dave Edwards handed a start after two months out and Shaun Whalley and Matt Millar on the bench.
Ricketts, who used a 3-5-2 in the previous match against Burton and 4-3-3 earlier in the season, admits Shrewsbury must be adaptable in their shape in the weeks ahead.
“We’re going to have to be adaptable and that’s more down to players that are available at one time,” the boss added.
“4-3-3 worked well in the early season and we could go back to that, I thought at Portsmouth we were excellent. We’ve had to change full-backs, we are lacking there through injury, we have to be adaptable and be able to play different systems and this one suited personnel available, the game and how I saw it panning out.
“It was nice for it to work and get us through to the next round.”
Walker’s late 30-yard rocket sealed progression in style but the Town goalscoring was pleased with how the visitors stood firm.
“In the first half we had a lot of chances and didn’t take any but in the second we had two great strikes that won us the game,” Walker said. “Credit to Cambridge, they are flying high in League Two, but we stood firm and kept the door shut.
“We’ve been desperate for a win like that, where we grind in and dig it out with backs against the wall with a clean sheet. Hopefully we can take it into the league.”
