Steve Cotterill: Shrewsbury punished for wasting chances
Manager Steve Cotterill feels Shrewsbury Town were left to rue wasted chances in front of goal in the 2-0 defeat at Charlton.
Town were undone by two second-half set-pieces as Jayden Stockley and Chuks Aneke netted for the hosts, who climbed to 12th, to leave the visitors without a win in their last five in League One.
Seventeenth-placed Shrews, in their penultimate game of the campaign, created enough opportunities to have put themselves in front at The Valley, none bigger than a double-chance at the beginning of the second half with the scoreline level at 0-0.
Former Salop keeper Craig MacGillivray saved from Ryan Bowman and then kept out Josh Daniels' rebound and Cotterill claimed the latter was the big opportunity and that Daniels made the wrong decision. A little over 10 minutes later Stockley converted a free header from a corner for the opener.
"I thought we were the better team," Cotterill said. "If we take our chances (then) we win the game.
"Two set-plays (for Charlton goals), which is really disappointing, it seems to have been a bit of a trend over the last couple of games.
"Other than that I would say there was hardly anything in it.
"I think we were the better team and created the better chances.
"We didn't manage to put one away and we've had easier chances today to get our noses in front.
"We had chances to equalise and chances to win the game, we just haven't taken them.
"We've been undone by two set-plays, two cheap goals, that we're disappointed with."
Aneke nodded home from a free-kick for 2-0 late on after the fixture had been paused by up to 10 minutes following what has since emerged as a claim of alleged racial abuse on Town goalkeeper Marko Marosi.
Read: Charlton fan ejected following alleged racist abuse towards Shrewsbury Town's Marko Marosi
Shrewsbury were the better side on the balance of play in the first half but it was the opening involving Bowman and Daniels after the break that the visiting boss felt his side should have taken.
He added: "The rebound is easier to finish off than Ryan's chance.
"I just think JD's looking to be a little bit too precise there. By being precise he takes the pace off the ball that could beat him.
"Whereas I think if he just concentrates, keeps his knee over the ball and drills that one I think he scores.
"He's made the wrong decision.
"We can talk about being the better team today, a real difficult place to come with the fans behind them.
"I won't say too much about the referee but I thought he was weak today.
"Before they'd even scored there was two free-kicks, we had exactly the same in their half and he's waved play on. You don't need that when you are away from home."
