NEIL Adams admits his side fell short of the required standard during their 1-0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night.

James Collins' goal early in the second half sent the League Two side into the fourth round of the Capital One Cup, ending City's unbeaten run that has been ongoing since the opening day of the season.

Adams made 11 changes from Saturday's draw with Birmingham City but says the team was more than competitive enough and should have done better.

"We were more than capable of winning the game; not being disrespectful to Shrewsbury because they've got the goal, we just needed to do better," he told Norwich City TV afterwards.

"We started okay, we controlled the game and controlled possession, but missed a couple of chances that could have changed it.

"We said the league is the priority, but there's a game here to be won. I'm not going to try and pretend that it doesn't matter, it does matter. It's a horrible feeling losing a game, especially one where we were strong enough to win."

City's boss says his side lacked a cutting edge in the final third and it ultimately cost them.

"I thought we over played at times. When we got into crossing positions, the crosses weren't bang on the money, and for the ones we did get in there the movement wasn't great," he added.

"I’m not going to try and cover it up, I don't think it was good enough today. Looking at the team, and looking at the way the game panned out, we should have done better than that."

On a positive note, Adams was pleased to see Jonny Howson and Gary Hooper return to first-team action after lengthy injury lay-offs, with the former completing the full 90 minutes.

"I thought Jonny did well. He's got a great engine anyway, he's a fit lad and he's worked hard during the time he's been off. Gary (Hooper) and Jonny did okay, and I thought Iggy (Miquel) did okay too."

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ADAMS: 'IT WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH'

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