Ground: Croud Meadow (capacity 9,875)
Location: Shrewsbury, England
Ticket price: £24 - Pay online
Today’s fixture is a middle of the road clash (as far as the table’s concerned) between Shrewsbury Town and Bristol Rovers. The Shrews have been a consistent League One fixture since the 2015/16 season and, barring a fantastic season under Paul Hurst where they finished 3rd (before losing in the playoff final to Rotherham courtesy of Richard Wood), they have found themselves occupying the lower spots of the League One table. Their form so far this season has been what you’d expect, 3 wins, 3 losses and sitting pretty in mid table. Their opponents, Bristol Rovers have lofty ambitions. Joey Barton has been backed in the transfer market, bringing in players such as Jack Hunt and Ryan Woods, two players who have proved their worth in higher divisions, as well as bringing back the likes of Jevani Brown from Aston Villa, who impressed on loan last season. Compare that to Shrewsbury’s recruitment, bringing in Max Mata and Tunmise Sobowale who both plied their trade in the League of Ireland last season and you can see the difference in transfer strategy. Bristol Rovers go for experience; Shrewsbury aim to dig up rough gems on the cheap and build them into EFL quality players. Of course, budget plays a part in this, but it’s still interesting to see how two clubs with different financial clout aim to maximise their output on the field. Most punters would have this down as being a Bristol Rovers win, but with both sides in similar positions in the table coming into the game, it’s one that could go either way for me.
Founded in 1886, Shrewsbury are the oldest team from the Shropshire area and the only club in the district to have played in the Football League. The club have been a regular fixture in the Football League since 2003, though have never played any higher than the third tier of English football. Shrewsbury have made six grounds their home during their existence; most notably Gay Meadow, where they played between 1910 – 2007. Coracle (a small boat) maker Fred Davies gained notoriety by saddling himself into one of his creations each game and paddling around the River Severn to collect lost footballs booted out of the ground. They currently play at New Meadow (or Croud Meadow - named after their sponsors, a digital marketing company).
The journey into Shropshire from West Yorkshire was relatively smooth. Sheffield -> Stockport -> Shrewsbury I think is a better route than Leeds -> Manchester Piccadilly -> Shrewsbury as there’s more leeway should there be any disruptions.
Shrewsbury itself is a rather quaint little place, the towering castle playing watchman over the little town close to the Welsh border. Salop (which is an old English term, translating to ‘From Shropshire’) was the birth place of Charles Darwin, and a statue of the geologist can be found near the station. The three lions represent the Borough of Shrewsbury and the blue and amber colours the local team don are the colours of Roger de Montgomery, the earl of Shrewsbury.
The walk itself to Croud Meadow is approx. 52 minutes and, barring a large traffic island with little in the way of traffic lights, it’s a pleasant little amble to the ground.
Shrewsbury lined up with an unorthodox 3-1-4-2 formation whereas Barton went for a more traditional 4-3-3. This fixture last season ended 2-1 to Shrewsbury, with the game at the Memorial Stadium ending as a 1-1 draw.
The first half began like two boxers in the early rounds of a bout, scouting the opposition and getting a feel for their style of play. Matt Taylor’s gameplan seemed to be to find Dan Udoh and use his strength to hold up the ball and bring others, in particular the onrushing Benning and Bennett who played a hybrid wingback/winger role. Max Mata, his strike partner, combined well in-between the spaces, but seemed to lack that cutting edge, with the two sides going in even at the break. I thought back to a promise made by Shrews manager to bring ‘attractive football’ to Croud Meadow, but we’re yet to see it today.
The game remained even up until the 73rd minute, John Marquis using all his experience to find the perfect pocket of space to tap it home unmarked in the centre of the goal from an Aaron Collins cross I looked across at the linesman, expecting his flag to be held aloft. To the dismay of myself and many of the Shrews fans, the linesman thought the goal was legitimate. Looking back at the footage, it’s debatable whether Collins was onside or not, but in my view, Marquis was clearly in front of the ball when the ball was played and the goal should not have stood. Nevertheless, the Gas ensured that the points were coming home with them to Bristol as Aaron Collins got the faintest of touch on a corner kick to seal the points. 2-0 it finished.
The disgruntlement in the air was palpable, as was evidenced by the chorus of boos coming from from the home end. “Can we have a fucking manager?” one punter cried out.
Shrewsbury 0-2 Bristol Rovers 16/09/23
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