Dave Edwards: Steve Cotterill should take all the credit for Derby draw
It was a game that probably felt like a win to those Shrewsbury players, but the credit must go to Steve Cotterill for his in-game changes.
After what happened in that first half, it was a game which looked like it was going to run away from Shrewsbury after the first 45 minutes.
Derby were good, but Salop did not show the standards of recent weeks, and to go 2-0 down away at Pride Park you could quite easily expect most teams to crumble a little bit and not offer much going forward.
You might try and protect that scoreline as you do not want to be going and getting beaten four or five.
But the manager and the team had different ideas, and as much as the players do the job on the pitch the credit for this result must go to the manager for recognising at half-time what needed to be done and how he could impact the game from the bench – which is a very hard thing to do.
He deserves a lot of credit for the change in formation which allowed Town to get the ball in better areas higher up the pitch.
But also the personnel changes where he had a very defensive back four which obviously you still need, but it allowed the wide players to really play in Derby’s half.
The timing of the first goal for Shrewsbury just after half-time was key, which gives you a little bit of a platform to build on. They will possibly be disappointed they did not go on to win the game. Matthew Pennington’s header and the shot from Christian Saydee were great chances.
They would also be thankful to Marko Marosi, as even though they did not win when they had the chances, Marosi pulled off a world-class save right at the end to deny Lewis Dobbin to make sure they left with a well-deserved point.
It looked like a brilliant day for Shrews fans visiting Pride Park a ground they would rarely have been to in league football.
The team is in great form and they are in love with the players on the pitch – they are really backing what the manager is doing too.
Coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in front of the travelling fans in that corner would have been a special afternoon for a lot of those players, some of their best in a football shirt. It left the Shrewsbury fans travelling home very excited and what a week it has been taking four points against Derby and Wycombe, who are rivals.
Luke Leahy is a players’ captain – they seem to adore him and he leads by example with performances on the pitch, but he seems to be such a likeable guy in that dressing room too.
It was a bit of a masterstroke coming as a left-back or left-wing-back and then becoming one of the best central midfielders in League One in the space of 12 months he deserves a lot of credit.
To remain focused the way he did and sit Joe Wildsmith down before slotting his penalty the other way was just great.
He looked so calm, I do not think there was any doubt from the players around him that he would miss – he has been a revelation this season.
