Steve Cotterill: Five minutes of madness cost Shrewsbury

The hosts countered Town's strong start at the University of Bolton Stadium with two long-range goals on the 17th and 23rd minutes through Antoni Sarcevic and Dapo Afolayan.

Town passed up a glorious chance to get back into the game 10 minutes after the break but Ryan Bowman's poor penalty was easily palmed away by goalkeeper Joel Dixon.

The visitors, for whom the reverse made it back-to-back defeats as they slipped to 23rd in League One, got back in the game through Luke Leahy's fine last free-kick but it was too late.

Cotterill bemoaned the manner of the hosts' goals. He said stopping those efforts from distance had been focused on all week at Sundorne Castle.

Cotterill said: "I don't know if frustration is a bigger one in the context of it - not so much frustration today, frustration is the bigger context.

"We've come to a place again where we should've got another result. I think disappointment is the word on the day.

"Apart from a mad five minutes (between) 17 and 23, I thought it was a good performance at a tough venue at a tough place to come and get a result with a big crowd.

"Apart from that five minutes, where we've conceded both the goals that we've worked on this week, that's how they score their goals.

"Even Sarcevic's goal, down to being a top corner shot, and Afolayan has a shot in the bottom corner, we even spoke about where they go - and those balls have ended in our net in exactly those areas and come about from areas we've worked on, that's the disappointing part about it."

Town were the better side in the first 15 minutes as Aaron Pierre, Shaun Whalley and Elliott Bennett all had chances while the front two of Bowman and Daniel Udoh both worked into good positions but saw shots blocked.

The boss added: "The goal was against the run of play, we feel, we had the better chances. We should've scored before they scored.

"After they scored we should've equalised, after they scored their second we could've had four before half-time.

"Really the score at half-time had we been more clinical could be 4-2 to us."

Town's penalty - a first of the season - was awarded after Whalley was tripped by Sarcevic, but Bowman's lofted effort was easy for Dixon.

Cotterill said: "Anyone can miss a penalty, certainly us missing a penalty today isn't why we've lost that game.

"No-one will ever get singled out, we win as a team and we lose as a team.

"It (Leahy's goal) was too late, we needed it to happen earlier, then I think we could've got a little head of steam and maybe got an equaliser.

"I felt the opportunities we carved out today were actually better opportunities than they've scored their goals from."

"I would hope so with that," Cotterill said on closing in on a turnaround in results. "Because that's what we've been striving to do now for a few weeks, to turn those chances into goals.

"We've got to carry on working and doing then things we're doing, because they are bearing fruit regards creating, but we've got to try to stick those away in important parts of the game as well.

"What we have got to do is be more ruthless with those chances, be more aggressive up front, whoever plays."

Cotterill revealed he left former Bolton midfielder Josh Vela out of the matchday squad as Vela was not ready to return from a knee injury sustained last weekend.

Vela was keen to play against his former side but the boss said he needs to be careful when the midfielder returns to action in case of a more significant injury.

He said: "He was not close enough, to be honest. He's doing some light training, but with this one it's a real tricky one.

"If he ends up in some sort of skirmish - I'm sure today he would've been, because that's what Josh Vela does - but we've just got to be careful with this injury.

"I've had players before that have come back too early from this injury and ended up out for a couple of months and we don't want that with Josh."