Swindon boss Ian Holloway was bursting with pride after the Robins bounced back from losing talisman Harry Smith for the season to beat Shrewsbury in style with Billy Bodin’s last-gasp winner.
Without the 6ft 5in striker, who ruptured his ACL in Town’s defeat to Barnet in midweek, Town’s young side had to keep it on the deck and opened the scoring with a superb passing move.
Callum Stewart’s 90th-minute goal looked to have secured a point for the struggling Shrews but three minutes later Bodin drilled home from edge of the box 13 years after his last goal for Swindon to earn a 2-1 win.
Holloway said: “I know they’re good, but that was outstanding. I’m bursting with pride. Of all my over 1000 games, I’ve never been prouder of my team.
“Harry was a cheat card. I could go up to him and get people around him, and that got us out of jail. We have to go for this.
“So the young ones I’ve got and the talent that they’ve got, we’re gonna have to work it.
“We have to play, we have to be brave.”
The Robins went ahead after seven minutes after a gorgeous double-figures passing pattern ended up with Aaron Drinan being teed up on the edge of the box to advance and tuck into the far corner.
But the Shrews levelled when Will Boyle’s shot from a corner hit Callum Stewart on the back and rolled into the net.
But substitute Bodin coolly swept home to hand Swindon the win.
Appleton said: “It’s a bitter pill to swallow. Not so much for myself, but more for the players and obviously the traveling fans. I thought the first half was okay.
“We just lacked a little bit of bravery, and there’s a bit of nervousness to us, but I thought the second half was superb today, we were on the front foot.
“We were aggressive. We had runners getting in beyond. We created opportunities.”
Appleton admitted things got feisty in the dressing room after the late collapse which leaves his side with just one point from five games.
He said: “There were things said in the dressing room – it got a little bit heated but in a really, really good way, I learned a lot about them today.
“There’s a lot of spirit in there, believe it or not. And I truly believe that, you know, the win that we’re all desperate for is around the corner.”
