Michael Appleton hails Shrewsbury ‘belief’ after dramatic FA Cup win at Sutton

Shrewsbury boss Michael Appleton admitted their dramatic FA Cup tie with Sutton “had a bit of everything” after his side produced a late turnaround to reach the third round with a 2-1 extra-time win.

Kai Jennings broke the deadlock when his corner flew straight in with 20 minutes to go before Shrewsbury had Josh Ruffels sent off, the first of three red cards in the tie.

Ismeal Kabia levelled in stoppage time and then Sutton went down to 10 men when David Ogbonna blocked a free-kick to pick up a second yellow card.

Substitute John Marquis scored the winner in the third minute of extra-time before Junior Eccleston’s red left Sutton with nine men.

Appleton said: “It had a bit of everything – great goals, sending-offs, some good play, some bad play.

“I thought we were very poor first half. We weren’t aggressive enough.

“We looked a real threat second half.

“I thought we were up against it a goal down with the sending-off. Sometimes players can give up on a game and feel sorry
for themselves, but we did the exact opposite.

“There is a belief within the group, we’ve just let ourselves down recently with a lack of quality.”

It was a cruel end for Sutton, who pushed the League Two side all the way.

Boss Chris Agutter said: “You don’t mind losing games when you deserve to lose the game.

“We came so close to getting over the line.

“Their first goal is incredibly avoidable and we’ve got to be better with that.

“The feeling of disappointment and frustration will very quickly be replaced by pride at the level of performance we’ve produced and ultimately with the fact we should have won the game.

“They’re a great group. I’ve just told them they’re the best group I’ve ever had the privilege to manage.

“With nine men we were still pressing and forcing them backwards. That’s huge credit to the players.”