'We were flat, we showed no urgency': Neil Critchley delivers his verdict on Blackpool's frustrating defeat at Shrewsbury Town

Neil Critchley believes his Blackpool side were made to pay for a lack of an urgency during the first-half of their 1-0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town.

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 while the Seasiders ended 2020 with a defeat.

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.

“I thought in the first-half, after an initial first 10 minutes where we looked promising, we were second best and we were flat. We showed no urgency in and out of possession,” Critchley said.

“We improved in the second-half, we moved the ball better, moved the ball better, played with more urgency and controlled the game. But our quality let us down.

“With the ability we’ve got on the pitch we should be doing better with the amount of possession we had in the second-half.

“We know how they’re going to play, 1-0 has been a popular scoreline for them in recent weeks, but we’ve not done enough to break them down.

“I’m not sure we deserved to lose the game, but I’m not sure we deserved to win it either.”

The decisive moment occurred in the 38th minute, when Sullay Kaikai was penalised for a needless foul on Shaun Whalley.

“I thought it was a penalty, I’ve got no complaints with the decision. The lad got in front of Sullay and he caught him, so it was a clear penalty,” Critchley added.

“The way they scored summed us up in the first-half. Sam has pulled off a great save, then made a double save and then they’re there again to tap it in. That just epitomised us.

“We were second to the first balls, second to the second balls and they just played with a bit more appetite.

“They looked in the rhythm of playing games and we didn’t and I think that was the difference in the first-half.”

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