Notts County boss Martin Paterson hailed his side’s first three points of the new campaign after watching them beat Shrewsbury 4-1.
After seeing visiting captain John Marquis reply to early strikes from Matthew Dennis and Sonny Aljofree, Paterson’s men rediscovered their poise when Nick Tsaroulla and Conor Grant scored after the interval.
The result leaves Michael Appleton’s Shrews in the relegation zone, only four months after being relegated from League One.
Paterson said: “I’m delighted. I use that word quite a lot, don’t I. I’ll say happy instead!
“I’ll be honest, there was pressure coming into that game and rightly so because of the start.
“It’s not always been dour. Far from it. But we needed to go out there and put on a full 90-minute performance.
“It’s great to get that result because you always need your first win. But there’s still things we need to do better, so we won’t be screaming from the rafters.
“It’s a new group which has performed well in pre-season. But pre-season is a false economy because it’s what you do under the lights.
“I’ve told the lads not to whoop it up, though, because there’s still work to do.
“People have done that against us and I don’t agree with it. I always talk about honesty and that’s what we are. We’ll keep working hard.”
Previously without a win since appointing Paterson in June, the hosts seized control when Dennis, who turned provider for their second, pounced on Elyh Harrison’s mistake.
Twelve minutes after spilling Jodi Jones’ cross, Harrison was picking the ball out of the net again when Aljofree beat his fellow Manchester United loanee.
Shrewsbury were handed a lifeline in the 32nd minute when Marquis guided Sam Stubbs’ centre home. It was snatched away shortly after the restart by Tsaroulla’s angled finish.
Eight minutes from time, Grant condemned Shrewsbury to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions when he met fellow substitute Kellan Gordon’s pass.
Appleton said: “We haven’t got long enough for my thoughts. I’m disappointed with how many errors we made in crucial parts of the pitch.
“The first time they got in the box, they conceded with an error – which can happen.
“The second was really disappointing because we’ve got a lot of defenders in there who I expect to be stronger and show more leadership.
“After that, I thought we were really good to be fair. It was quite positive at half-time because we thought we could go on and win the game as we were on the front foot.
“To concede so soon afterwards was a real sucker-punch.
“It was difficult to judge the fourth because the reality is we were chasing the game.
“I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m not going to shy away from it. We need to be better. These are the moments you find out who is with you.”
