Shrewsbury put the hard yards in to claim a point at Pompey

It was a very demanding eight days for Steve Cotterill’s men.

They completed 900 miles of travelling combined with three fixtures.

They also had to contend with the news that Julien Dacosta and Aiden O’Brien have had setbacks as they continue to recover from injury.

The pair are important players for Shrews, and both of them being unavailable – to go with George Nurse and Dan Udoh also being out for the season – is a blow for Cotterill. Town cannot seem to catch a break on the injury front.

O’Brien did come off the bench at Plymouth and has completed 90 minutes recently in an EFL Trophy game, and they will hope to know more about the extent of those problems next week.

Salop were very good at Plymouth in the week and they deserved at least a point against the league leaders, but a late comeback meant they missed out.

They created lots of chances at Home Park, but it was not the same when they took on Pompey.

In truth, neither side created much, and it was not a game for the purist.

But they did put in a brilliant defensive display against another team that will have ambitions of getting promoted at the end of the season.

Chey Dunkley has been immense since his arrival in the summer, and he was no different here.

He is a traditional defender that focuses on doing his job first, winning headers and making vital blocks.

It was not just Dunkley though, Salop defended well as a team, and every man put in a huge shift for the 426 travelling Town fans who had made the journey to Fratton Park.

Elliott Bennett became the second wing-back of the week to get on the score sheet.

Jordan Shipley scored in the defeat at Plymouth, but this time Bennett got in on the action.

Perhaps the wing-backs offering such a goal threat is a sign that the system is working well.

The game started with a quiet opening 20 minutes.

Danny Cowley’s side had 78 per cent possession, but other than a few scuffed clearances from Shrewsbury goalkeeper Marko Marosi he did not have too much to worry about. For the majority of that time, Portsmouth moved the ball too slowly to make any progress forward.

Their first chance came after good interplay down the right between Owen Dale and Zak Swanson, and when the cross came in, Colby Bishop’s header was claimed by Marosi.

But with Town’s first attack of the game, they took the lead.

Rob Street did well to hold the ball up on the edge of the Pompey penalty area and, after the ball bounced around the box, Winchester shot and his effort cannoned against the post. It came out to Bennett in acres of space, and he slotted past Griffiths.

But the lead lasted just six minutes, and the equaliser was a goal of real quality.

Former Arsenal man Zak Swanson curled the ball into the top corner with his weaker foot beyond a helpless Marosi.

It was a strange half of football, where there were very few chances of note worthy of reporting on other than the goals.

The hosts caused Salop problems down their right, with Dale looking like a very skilful player and linking up well with Swanson.

But at the break, it was honours even.

After the interval, both sides pushed for the lead. Christian Saydee hit the byline for Town, but his pull-back was cut out by a Portsmouth defender.

At the other end, Chey Dunkley was on hand to deny Dane Scarlett and to head behind a dangerous cross from Dale.

The pattern of play was similar to the first half, and Shrewsbury sat in a low block at the edge of their box and defended in numbers. They looked to hit the hosts on the break, and at times, when they moved the ball well, they looked dangerous.

As the half wore on it looked as if a demanding week was beginning to catch up with them.

Bishop headed over for the hosts when maybe he should have done better.

Cotterill went to his bench to provide his team with reinforcements.

Street and Saydee were replaced by Ryan Bowman and Rekeil Pyke with 15 minutes remaining to give them fresh legs.

Other than that header by Bishop, the home hosts showed very little in a creative sense to break Salop down.

And they held on to secure a deserved draw.