Steve Cotterill praised his battling Shrewsbury side after they recovered from 2-0 down to beat Exeter in a five-goal thriller.

Defender Chey Dunkley was in the right place at the right time as he fired home a dramatic 93rd-minute winner in front of the jubilant home fans at New Meadow.

Pierce Sweeney gave himself a belated birthday gift as he opened the scoring before Jonathan Grounds doubled the visitors’ lead.

Matt Pennington immediately pulled one back before Tom Bayliss levelled in a frenetic first half.

Both sides hit the bar in their search for a third, but it was Dunkley who had the last laugh with his late, late winner.

“The lads showed great character so full credit to them,” said Cotterill.

“It was a brilliant response to being two goals behind. Winning right at the end like that is one of the best feelings in football.

“We didn’t start well and found ourselves two goals behind. But we managed to fight our way back into the game and turn the momentum in our favour.

“Our first goal was really important. To score just after conceding the second kind of stopped them in their tracks.

“I always say the third goal is really important in games like that because it puts the winning side on the back foot and that’s what happened.

“Hopefully we can use this win as a catalyst. There’s a great atmosphere in the dressing room after that and it’s well deserved.”

After seeing his side squander a commanding two-goal lead, Grecians boss Matt Taylor said: “I feel sick to my stomach in terms of the manner of the defeat.

“There was a lot to like about that performance, but you get what you deserve.

“We defended moments of that game uncharacteristically poorly. We had some naive moments, especially when we’ve gone 2-0 up and let them back into the game.

“The last goal is a culmination of some tired bodies and not being in the right place at the right time.

“I don’t want to criticise them too much because I need them confident and bright for the weekend.

“It hurts because when you play well and lose it’s a real kick in the areas which hurt an awful lot. But, and it’s a big but, we were too weak in certain moments tonight.

“We have to defend our set-pieces better than we did. Generally we defend set-pieces better than that. We’ve been punished and it hurts because we’ve played well enough to get something from that game.”