Shrewsbury Town manager Paul Hurst acknowledged that Peterborough United displayed their attacking prowess in a convincing 4-1 victory at the Croud Meadow on Saturday. Two goals each from Kwame Poku and Joel Randall earned Peterborough their first League One win of the season. Randall’s late goals came after Shrewsbury pushed additional forward players in a bid to salvage a point.
In the lead-up to the match, Hurst had warned his players about Peterborough’s “frightening” attacking capabilities.
“I’m massively disappointed with the scoreline and the way the game ended,” Hurst told the *Shropshire Star*. “We knew what we were up against, and Peterborough certainly showed their quality at times. However, for a large portion of the game, we were competitive, and we even had a shot cleared off the line when we were 2-1 down.
“I take responsibility for bringing on extra attacking players to try to get something from the game, which might have influenced how it finished. On the other hand, the players also have to take responsibility, particularly for the fourth goal, which was completely avoidable. To call it ‘Sunday League football’ would be an insult to Sunday League—it was a ridiculous goal to concede. It only made the scoreline look worse.
“I’m not suggesting we were on par with Peterborough, who are obviously a very good team, but we had managed to stay in the game for long stretches. However, they looked dangerous every time they attacked. We did some good defensive work, but right now, we seem too easy to play against.
“A key difference was how often we gave the ball away under minimal pressure compared to Peterborough, who made us work much harder when we didn’t have possession. The lads need to improve. If you take better care of the ball, you make the opposition do more of the running.”
Shrewsbury have lost both of their League One matches so far this season and are currently at the bottom of the table.
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