Shrewsbury Town
Formed in 1886, Shrewsbury were a somewhat nomadic side in the early years, playing home games at a number of locations in the area.
In 1910 they moved to Gay Meadow which was located close to the town centre, a venue that was prone to flooding from the River Severn that ran alongside the ground.
In 1997 the club moved to a new, purpose built, stadium on the outskirts of the town. Originally named The New Meadow, it has since been rebranded and is known as Montgomery Waters Meadow, with a capacity of 9,875.
In the 62 league meetings between the sides to date, Rovers have won 29, Shrewsbury 19 and there have been 14 draws.
In the only FA Cup meeting between the sides, Shrewsbury were 2-1 winners back in January 1988, while there have been two meetings in the League Cup, a 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury in a first leg tie in September 1963, with Rovers winning the second leg at Eastville 6-2 the same month.
In 2006/07 the sides met on four occasions. Twice in the league, once in the Football League Trophy and in the League Two play off final at Wembley, in which Rovers were 3-1 winners.
The first ever league meetings between the sides came in 1951/52 when they played out a 3-3 draw at Eastville on August 25th 1951 with Shrewsbury winning the return fixture 2-1 on December 22nd that year.
Rovers completed a double over Shrewsbury in 2020/21, the last season we met, winning the away game 1-0 on October 20th 2020 and the home game 2-1 on February 27th 2021.
Players to have appeared for both clubs include Chic Bates, Frankie Bennett, Scott Bevan, Junior Brown, Liam Burns, Craig Disley, Luke Daniels, Steve Cross, Charlie Colkett, Leon Clarke, Trevor Challis, Rory Fallon, Brian Gayle, Josh Ginnelly, Ron Green, Glyn Jones, Joe Jacobson, Scott Howie, Matt Hayfield, Matt Harrold, Jason Harris, Liam Lawrence, Steve Phillips, Paul Petts, Stefan Payne, Abu Ogogo, Ollie Norburn, Stuart Nicholson, Lee Nicholls, Carl Regan, Alex Rodman, Scott Shearer, Kevin Street, Brian Williams, Devon White, Richard Walker and Mark Wright.
Former Rovers manager Ian Atkins made 279 league appearances for Shrewsbury, while another former Rovers manager, Graham Coughlan, appeared in 78 league games for the Shrews.
Andy Mangan, first team coach at Rovers, enjoyed two spells as a player with Shrewsbury, making a total of 59 league appearances and scoring 13 goals.
Rovers players who have made their debut against Shrewsbury include Len Pickard (1951/52), Paddy Leonard and John McIlvenny (both 1952/53), Ronnie Briggs (1965/66), Neil Slatter (1980/81), Stephen Morgan (1995/96), Elvis Hammond (2001/02), Kyle Bennett and Tony Craig (both 2017/18), Jack Bonham and Joe Martin (both 2018/19).
Next season’s fixtures take place at The Mem on 27th August with the return fixture taking place on 25th March 2023.
A round trip to the venue, from The Mem, takes in 212 miles via the M5 and A458.
Shrewsbury Town FC
Montgomery Waters Meadow
Oteley Road
Shrewsbury
Shropshire
SY2 6ST
Keith Brookman
(all photos courtesy of Keith Brookman)