I think we will win this one 2-0 also I can see us winning the other two home games against Oldham and Millwall but IMO I think we lose all our away games also.
By Gerry Prewett. After ‘failing to turn up’ last weekend at Coventry, Bristol Rovers have left themselves with a mountain to climb if they have any possibility of making the Play-Offs. Rovers have had problems overcoming seemingly easy opposition, besides Coventry, they have also lost to Chesterfield and Shrewsbury (who were bottom at the time) when a 3-point haul seemed inevitable. On Saturday, as Rovers were going down 1-0 in the Midlands, the Shrews entertained high-flying Bolton Wanderers. After a tight first half the Trotters took the lead on 51 minutes when Shrews keeper Josh Leutwiler got caught in no man’s land from Filipe Morais’ long throw and Mark Beevers’ flick coasted into an empty net. Ben Alnwick, saved from Freddie Ladapo and Roberts either side of Bolton's breakthrough, before the visitors doubled their lead in the 66th minute. Morais broke down the right, beat Matt Sadler and picked out Adam Le Fondre, who controlled the ball and smashed into the roof of the net from close range. Shaun Whalley fired a late effort over the bar for Shrewsbury, leaving them just a point outside the relegation zone. Shrews Boss Paul Hurst was disappointed with keeper Jayson Leutwiler decision making for the opening goal, "I don't think he did have to come. I said to him if he does then he has to come and get it. That's the life of a goalkeeper. The mistakes you make are often costly and it happened today because I don't think realistically there was any need to come.” "It wasn't right in there, he's come a long way and doesn't get there. Beevers celebrated I don't know if it hit his head or not, I thought it might've gone in off one of ours but either way it'd probably have gone into Jayson's hands had he stayed where he should have.” "It's disappointing because I thought if anything we were slightly better and looked quite dangerous. We played to a game plan, the lads stuck to it well and caused them some problems." Hurst still saw positives, "I thought they were a committed team out there. I thought we had the better of it in the first half in particular. We made the keeper make a couple of saves. I don't think Jayson's had a much to do all day, but Bolton are the type of side with the experience and physicality that we always thought the first goal would be a big goal.” "And that's where my frustration lies because it was a very soft goal. We picked a team that could give us a better chance to stand up to that physical side, we had a little bit of a bonus with Madine going off from an aerial point of view.” "But I thought we defended most set plays and long throws pretty well. But we made a wrong decision back there and found ourselves behind. That's where we've got to be a little bit stronger mentally but Bolton did make it difficult, they've won a lot of games 1-0 and kept a lot of clean sheets. You look at the back three, they've all played higher and expect them to play higher. We didn't concede four, that's been the common theme, but disappointed in the goal that put us on the back foot." Looking back at previous meetings between the teams, perhaps the most memorable was the very first Wembley Play-Off Final at the end of an exhilarating 2006/07 season. It took an exciting sequence of ten unbeaten League games, including the late run of five successive victories, to get Rovers to their date at the new Wembley. It placed Rovers alongside Chelsea as teams who played Finals at both the Millennium and Wembley Stadiums in the same season. Games between the clubs that season had been very tight. Before the Final, Rovers had won two of the three games and yet only two goals were scored in total. The Final of course turned out to be something of a goal feast with Richard Walker (2) and Sammy Igoe giving Rovers their 3-1 victory as Gasheads almost literally sucked the last goal over the line in stoppage time. Rovers certainly have the upper hand in meetings, having won 28, drawn 15 and lost 14 of the 57 games between the clubs. Rovers equal best league victory was the 7-0 thrashing of the Shrews in the 1963-64 season. Bobby Jones (2), Harold Jarman (2), Alfie Biggs (penalty) Dave Stone and Johnny Brown were Rovers scorers. Rovers were 4-0 up after just 16 minutes. It was some kind of ‘payback’ for a 7-2 dumping the previous season, Frank Clarke (3), Jim McLaughlin (3) and Arthur Rowley scored for the Shrews and Keith Williams and Harold Jarman for Rovers. Shrews midfielder Louis Dodds spoke earlier this week about the prospects of his team for the rest of the season,“One million per cent I’d sacrifice scoring any more goals to stay up. I wouldn’t play any more minutes if I knew it would keep us up and hopefully we’ll do enough. We’ve just got to go onto the next game and get a bit of momentum.” “I don’t think the spirit’s taken a dip,” he added, “Obviously you don’t come in laughing and joking as you would (when you’re winning), but I don’t think anyone’s any less focused or thinks we’re going to get relegated any more. We knew when we went six unbeaten that we weren’t safe and we weren’t relegated.” “I think it’s the same. I think the older pros like myself, Adam (El-Abd) and Sads (Sadler) have to speak to the younger ones, get everyone going and tell them that it’s not a great result and you don’t come in laughing and joking. But you can’t be down in the dumps either, there’s got to be a happy medium and keep going for a massive game next week.” Paul Hurst spoke about the attitude he required from his players, “Today we’ll get back to work and there’ll be no sulking, no feeling sorry for ourselves, it’s onto the next one. If, for any reason, people come in and they’re really down and don’t want to get on with the job then we won’t have a chance, but I won’t let that happen. We’ll get back to work and try our best at Bristol Rovers.” “I’ve said to the players what I want from them now is an absolute unselfish approach. If you’re not in the team or if you’re not going to kick a ball between now and the end of the season, but it means we stay up, that’s what it’s got to be.” “It’s not a time for personal goals to be achieved, it’s about what’s best for this football club. I accept they’ll be happier if they’re in the team but if they’re not then I want them almost to be like cheerleaders on the side, willing the lads to do the job that’s being asked to get the points needed.” “Then at the start of the summer everything can be reassessed. We’re at a point certainly now where it’s not about just being selfish. It’s about staying together as a group and willing whoever gets that starting shirt to do extremely well and get the points that are needed
THREE TO WATCH: SHREWSBURY TOWN please log in to view this image Take a look at the potential threats in the ranks of our opponents this Saturday in SkyBet League One, Shrewsbury Town. #10 - Louis Dodds - Midfielder/Striker The thirty-year-old is Shrewsbury's leading goalscorer this campaign, with ten goals in all competitions, averaging a goal in every 271 minutes played. After starting out at the Leicester City Academy, the midfielder turned professional with the Foxes in 2006. He spent the 2006–07 season on loan at Northwich Victoria and then progressed to a loan spell with Rochdale in the Football League. The midfielder then spent the entirety of the 2007–08 campaign on loan at Lincoln City, before joining Port Vale on a permanent deal in July 2008. During his spell at Port Vale, the midfielder helped the club to secure promotion out of League Two in 2012–13 with seven goals in just under forty appearances. After a spell of eight seasons at Port Vale, Dodds made the switch to Shrewsbury in May 2016. Rovers fans will recall Dodds finding the net when the two sides met back in December and in recent weeks, the midfielder bagged a brace in Shrewsbury's 4-3 victory over Charlton and a goal in a 2-1 defeat against Port Vale. #12 - Junior Brown - Midfielder Starting his career at his hometown club, Crewe Alexandra, the midfielder made just one appearance before dropping down the leagues to kick start his career. Amassing over sixty first-team appearances during spells in non-league with Halifax Town and Northwich Victoria, the midfielder managed to secure a move to join Fleetwood Town in 2010 and helped Fleetwood win promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history. After joining Tranmere on loan for a brief spell in 2014, the midfielder then spent a season at both Oxford United and Mansfield Town, before joining Shrewsbury in the summer of 2015. Since joining Shrewsbury the midfielder has made just over fifty appearances and signed a contract extension back in the summer to prolong his stay at the club. This season the twenty-seven-year-old has been ever-present for the Shrews and has helped his teams cause with four goals, with his last strike coming against Bolton on Boxing Day. #27 - Tyler Roberts - Forward On loan at Shrewsbury from West Brom, eighteen-year-old Roberts has made an impact since joining the club in January, scoring four goals in just over ten appearances. The youngster spent the first-half of the 2016/17 at Oxford United, where he bagged two goals, including an impressive strike in the Checkatrade Trophy against Oxford. On his return to West Brom in January, Oxford United were keen to extend the youngsters loan, but instead, the winger chose to head to Shropshire, agreeing on a loan deal with the Shrews until the end of the season At international level, Roberts has represented Wales up to U19 level and recently committed his international future to Wales and was on the standby list for the recent round of international fixtures. Shrewsbury are unbeaten in every game that Roberts has scored in since his arrival at Greenhous Meadow, with the youngster also contributing three assists.
Take a look at the match day schedule for Saturday's fixture at the Mem against Shrewsbury Town. Rovers welcome Shrewsbury Town to The Memorial Stadium on Saturday, the teams last met at The Mem on 13th September 2011 with a crowd of 5,065. Chris Zebroski's second goal for Bristol Rovers was enough to give his side a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Shrewsbury. The former Torquay striker lashed home a right-footed volley from the edge of the box on 19 minutes after latching onto Matt Harrold's knockdown. Shrewsbury kept battling until the last and in the final minute of stoppage-time Lionel Ainsworth forced a flying save from Scott Bevan with a 25-yard drive. The visitors played some neat football and had a goal threat in Marvin Morgan, but until the closing stages they failed to create clear chances. Rovers defender Cian Bolger had a header blocked on the line 10 minutes from time, but his side then had to withstand heavy late pressure. Substitute Tom Bradshaw and Ainsworth went close to an equaliser, but it was Rovers' night. We are expecting a crowd in excess of 9,000, therefore please arrive in good time to avoid queues. Here’s your match day schedule for Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury Town on Saturday 1st April 2017. 9.00am: The Club Shop opens for business with a wide range of items. Check out our full range on our retail website www.brfcdirect.co.uk . 10.00am: Car parking at the stadium opens to season permit holders, where car park attendants will direct car parking. Spaces are not available on a match-by-match basis. Roads in the immediate vicinity of the stadium are not subject to any parking prohibitions on match days, however drivers are asked to park sensibly and not obstruct resident’s driveways/access. We recommend travelling to the Memorial Stadium by bus, this has never been easier we have seven services which stop close to the ground and then it's just a short walk further details can be found at www.firstgroup.com/bristolrovers. 11.00am: The Clubhouse Bar opens for Home supporters on a first-come, first-served basis. Liverpool v Everton showing live on the big screens. 11.00am: Irene’s Kitchen Restaurant will be open in the Bristol Room, serving hot food from chips, burgers, hot dogs, pasties, pulled pork rolls and lots more. 12noon: Ticket Office opens and will remain open right up to kick-off at 3pm for supporters looking to buy home & away tickets or collect tickets for today’s game. 1:00pm: Fan Zone Opens The Young Pirates & Community Trust Family Zone will be open, housed in the West Stand Car Park, which provides an area where families can relax and enjoy pre-match activities in a safe and secure environment. A fenced off area has been made available in the West Stand Car Park, adjacent the Family Enclosure turnstiles. The Family Zone activity area – has a Penalty Shoot-out competition, football play areas, a tuck shop, face painting and surprise visits from players (between 2pm-2.30pm) and Captain Gas to look forward to. 1.30pm: Stadium opens Inside the ground Families are welcome In the Bristol Post Family Terrace, there is a food kiosk where you can buy food and drinks. Captain Gas will make an appearance before kick-off. Don’t forget to buy your 50-50 tickets to be in with a chance to win a substantial cash prize. Tickets will be available throughout the stadium before kick-off with the draw taking place at half-time. Look out for our Bristol Rovers Supporters Club 50-50 volunteers around the stadium. Supporters will also be able to pick up the official Matchday Programme, The Pirate, for a price of only £3. Home fans in the South, South West, West Enclosure and Family Terrace will have access to a bar located in the South West corner of the ground. There are a variety of food and drink outlets at the ground. Proper Cornish Pasties are a fans favourite, and the kiosks serve a selection of hot and cold food and also has vegetarian options. 3pm: Kick-off! It’s time to back Darrell Clarke’s team to victory. C’mon You Blues! 3.45pm: At Half time, Nick Day will be your host for the interval. Listen out for the 50-50 and Helpline Draw. 4.50pm: On the final whistle, the Clubhouse Bar re-opens with Screen Soccer Highlights on the big screens before the bar closes. Don’t miss any of the action and buy your tickets now to back The Gas at The Mem. Tickets are available, priced from £16 for adults, from £14 for 16-21 and from £5 for under-16s.
Wont be going to this game. Doubt I will be listening either. I hope we smash them for more reasons than 1. I will be angry if we dont get 4 goals minimum with a clean sheet too.
I think that despite the win it was the worst game I have seen this season we allowed Shrewsbury to drag us down to their level The one major plus was the quality that Joe Lumley displayed in keeping a clean sheet
