Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill pleased to 'overcome adversity' with Burton win

Town secured a comfortable 2-0 win in difficult conditions at Burton Albion as goals from Tom Bloxham and Matthew Pennington earned the visitors a first victory in nine league games.

It also increased the distance between Cotterill's side and the League One bottom four to six points.

The manager had limited options in the short trip to Staffordshire this afternoon as his side were without key midfield duo David Davis and Josh Vela through injury and suspensions respectively.

"I'm pleased for our players, pleased for the supporters, pleased for everybody connected with the football club really," said Cotterill.

"We've ended up with eight league games without a win but we've deserved to win quite a few of those games and it just doesn't go your way.

"We know what it's like with the world we live in now, everybody jumps all over it when things are not going so well, we just have to keep level-headed, know what you're doing is right, tweak a few things and come over the face of adversity really.

"When you think about losing two players again that are important to us, others have stepped up to the mark. They need to keep doing that, I'm pleased for everybody at the club today."

The Town boss, a former Burton striker, was impressed with how his side withstood Burton's game plan. He added: "It was very good (the performance), very disciplined, very hard-working, I thought we were very methodical in everything we did in the prep and in the game itself.

"If you're right when you come to Burton Albion, you will find out about it in the first 10 minutes. Burton were 3-0 up against Bolton the other week in half an hour and Bolton are a good team.

"They play more football than they're given credit for as well, it's difficult at this stage whatever pitch you play on. There were two honest teams having a go."

Teenager Bloxham, 18, netted his fifth goal of the season and second in the league 10 minutes before the break with a first-time curled strike after peeling away to connect with a low Elliott Bennett corner.

The second, on the hour, has been credited to defender Pennington who bundled over the line after George Nurse's strike from range was insufficiently parried by keeper Ben Garratt.

"I would like to claim that (routine) but no, that's just Tom using his imagination," Cotterill added.

"Tom scores goals like that every day in training but his career is just starting, which is fantastic, when you think he's only just 18 and scoring goals like that.

"Nursey gets a great strike off for the second, I think Penno nicks it off him on the goal line.

"I said to Penno 'was it going over the line?' and he gave me a little smirk with 10 minutes to go, I think Penno's nicked that one, but he's our goalscoring centre-half so I'm not surprised.

"It deflates Burton a little bit when the second goes in, we all know that, we've been there ourselves. We were delighted to get the clean sheet today.

"I thought Ryan Bowman was excellent and led the line really well. All in all a good team performance and clean sheet for Marko, the lads at the back played well and every one of the subs contributed in some shape or form."

Town recorded their first win since the 1-0 home success against Sheffield Wednesday on January 2. Cotterill feels his side have merited much more than their return suggests in the run of games since.

But the important Pirelli Stadium win - backed by 928 noisy travelling Shrewsbury supporters - has increased the gap to the drop zone below ahead of tricky clashes against leaders Rotherham on Tuesday and at Cambridge, who have enjoyed an impressive run of form in 2022, next Saturday.

The manager said: "It hasn't been (difficult), but you know what the difficult point has been? Coming to speak to you, and speaking to him, because you come at me with negative questions.

"That's the only thing, it doesn't matter to me what you have to say or he has to say. It doesn't matter what gets said.

"When you draw, you aren't far from winning, are you? We get beat by Plymouth 1-0, we get beat by Bolton 1-0, 93rd minute, after dominating them.

"I've been in the game long enough now, so whenever it gets cranked up it makes no difference to me, absolutely no difference. I'm like the weather, I pay no attention to criticism."