Cotterill: We deserved to go on and win again...

STEVE Cotterill saluted a ‘magnificent’ second-half response from his Shrewsbury side as they hit back to secure a draw against Fleetwood.

A Luke Leahy penalty earned the Shrews a deserved point as they hit back following Anthony Pilkington’s Fleetwood opener, meaning they’ve lost just one of their last nine matches.

Cotterill said: “Looking back over the second-half performance, I am disappointed because I thought we could have won.

“On another day we would have stuck away one or two more of those chances we missed.

“It wasn’t quite a complete performance as we need to do that over 90 minutes, but we definitely looked the likelier of the two sides to go on and win it.”

Ryan Bowman went close early on for the hosts when his low drive was superbly saved by Fleetwood keeper Alex Cairns.

Fleetwood then struck in the 21st minute when Callum Johnson’s sweet cross was headed home by an unmarked Pilkington.

Pilkington threatened again ten minutes later when his shot was deflected narrowly off target.

Just before the break, Shrews defender Matthew Pennington almost put the ball into his own net when trying to clear Andrew’s whipped-in cross.

But the hosts levelled from the penalty spot three minutes after the restart, with Leahy slotting home after Zak Jules clumsily bundled over Dan Udoh.

Midway through the second half, Pilkington fired a low strike just wide of the target.

Shrews’ skipper Ethan EbanksLandell was denied by a superb Cairns stop late on, before Fleetwood’s Callum Camps was dismissed for dissent in stoppage time after Udoh’s effort was hacked off the line. Fleetwood missed the chance to leapfrog their hosts in the table, but boss Stephen Crainey was pleased with the display.

He said: “I thought we were excellent in the first half. We had opportunities to kill the game off too, which is a bit frustrating.

“If we’d gone and got a second or third goal it would have been no surprise, but at least we’re creating those chances.

“Once we get that clicking we’ll win games of football.”