'We didn't give them too many looks at our goal': Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill on his side's win against Blackpool

Dan Udoh’s opportunistic first-half strike proved to be enough for the Shrews, who picked up their first home league win of the season.

The goal came after debutant goalkeeper Sam Walker had saved an Ollie Norburn penalty, again denying the hosts on the rebound before Udoh tapped home on the goalline.

Blackpool, who still haven’t beaten Shrewsbury since 1997, squandered two or three good chances to level but it wasn’t to be, as the home side claimed the three points in a scrappy battle played out in near-freezing conditions.

"From all of the lads, from myself, from all of the staff and the lads who played tonight - from all of us, that win was for the fans," Cotterill said.

"They've waited a long time for that. Hopefully the fans have gone home tonight with a warm feeling inside.

"Our performance, we were a little bit indifferent. We were very organised and didn't give Blackpool too many looks at our goal. We didn't give them too many free opportunities. My only slight disappointment is that Ollie's penalty didn't go in because he was absolutely outstanding.

"He was outstanding against a very good team who have had a break. They looked fresh and didn't look like they've had Saturday-Tuesday games as we have. They have a strong bench and have been together for a little while now.

"Ollie Norburn was outstanding, didn't lose a tackle and he intercepted balls. I feel sorry for him that his penalty didn't go in. I wondered why he was selected as the captain, but over the weeks I've been here, I can see why - it was a good selection."

On Udoh's match-winning goal, Cotterill added: "What Dan has to do is make sure for all the hard work he does, he ends up scoring a goal. We conceded a penalty early on when I came in because we didn't follow in. They followed in and that's just a little thing they have absorbed.

"If we get the finer details right, and they get them right on the pitch, we will benefit. The changes we made were to freshen up the team. We needed to change our formation because they started to get a grip of the game. The changes that we made, made us stronger."

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