Four positives from Shrewsbury's EFL Trophy defeat

The adventure ended with defeat at Stockport. Ollie Westbury looks at four takeaways from that game.

Nana Owusu

The youngster has played in all three of Town’s games in this competition, and he has caught the eye.

The first half on Tuesday evening was tough for Salop, they found themselves under the cosh against a really physical Stockport team.

One of the bright sparks of that 45 minutes was Owusu.

The youngster coped well physically, with his athleticism being impressive.

He made one really important block in the first half to stop County from doubling their lead.

But also, he looks comfortable on the ball, putting in a couple of dangerous balls into the box.

When Shrewsbury improved after the break, the link-up between Owusu and Tom Bloxham posed a real threat down the right side, and he looks to have a really bright future ahead of him.

First-team minutes

Town have picked up some good results of late, meaning Steve Cotterill has not needed to make too many changes to his team.

But with the demands of the League One campaign, it is inevitable that at some point all of the members of the squad are going to be called on.

So it is important when the opportunity arises those fringe players get the chance to play and stay sharp.

Ryan Bowman, Rob Street, Bloxham and Charlie Caton have all featured in the league this season.

There is little point in them going weeks without getting a game.

And the minutes will only help those if the boss needs to call on them in the weeks to come.

Return of O’Brien

You could tell in the second half why Aiden O’Brien has come to Town with the reputation he has.

David Longwell said in his post-match interview the forward played a little deeper after the interval to allow him to get on the ball.

And even though it was his first start of the season, you can see the footballing IQ he has.

At one stage in the second period, he made an interception before dribbling to the edge of the Stockport area and playing in Ryan Bowman.

Sadly the forward missed the chance, which was possibly Town’s best of the game, but it was a sign of what the forward might bring.

But with him getting closer to full match fitness, it can only be another benefit for Cotterill.

With the injury to Dan Udoh, his form could be key to Salop’s chances of maintaining their impressive start to the season.

Kade Craig

The 19-year-old has been in several league squads, but he has been another player who has caught the eye.

The left-footed centre-back looked calm and composed on the ball, playing several raking balls forward.

In recent times Cotterill has called up Josh Bailey to the first-team squad, saying he made the decision because the full-back impressed in this competition.

Craig is someone who would have done himself no harm in these games – arguably being one of Town’s best players.

If there were to be another injury at centre-back he may find himself in contention again.