THE GAME
Rovers began 2026 with a win, their first in the league since September thanks to a hat trick by striker Fabrizio Cavegn.
Head Coach Steve Evans rang the changes for this New Year’s Day clash, bringing in Joel Senior, Kacper Lopata, Tom Lockyer and Shaq Forde at the expense of Taylor Moore, Clinton Mola, Josh McEachran and
Ruel Sotiriou.
After a tentative opening from both sides the game came to life as Rovers were, initially, awarded a penalty after Cavegn was blatantly pushed in the back inside the area. However, after consulting his assistant, referee Robert Massey-Ellis ruled that the striker had been in an offside position when the offence took place.
Straight from the restart the home side almost took the lead when former Gas striker John Marquis was played in by John McDermott and, in a one on one situation with Gas keeper Luke Southwood, saw his shot strike the base of the post.
As far as first half opportunities were concerned, that was about it although home keeper Will Brook made a comfortable save from a Lopata header.
There were chances at either end at the start of the second half, with Marquis being denied by Southwood, who rushed off his line to block the striker’s effort, while Brook did well to save push away a shot from Forde.
It was Rovers who broke the deadlock though, capitalising on a dreadful mix up in the Shrewsbury defence. A long clearance from Southwood saw Will Boyle attempt to head the ball back to Brook. Cavegn got to the ball before the keeper and gleefully slotted the ball into an empty net.
The striker almost added a second shortly afterwards but, after rounding Brook, saw his shot hit the outside of the post.
He wasn’t to be denied again, though, and scored twice in the closing stages to register his first ever hat trick.
There were 88 minutes on the clock when he collected a cross from Forde and slotted home from close range and in time added on he managed to get on the end of Senior’s ball into the box and knock the ball into the net to seal what was, in the end, an emphatic victory.
WHAT WAS SAID
‘I thought we were really good, I thought we were bright in the first half. I think there’s a clear penalty kick, that the referee’s given the penalty, assistant judges it offside, he’s clearly onside when we look back at the footage on the bench. But you know, he’s called it wrong, but I said to the boys at half time, these kinds of things have gone against us, but we need to display a fight and an energy level and if we get the first goal, then we’ll get more and when we get the first goal. Chuks Aneke comes on, the last time he came on against me, he scored a wonder goal at Charlton to equalise in the last seconds for them. Then we got the second goal in, and I thought they were really good. I can’t even name just Fab as the man of the match because I think there were seriously other contenders.
‘But quite rightfully, that young man worked so hard for us, so hard for the team, and I maintain, before I came in because I knew of him, if we make chances, he’ll score a goal, and I’m really pleased for the boys. More importantly, I’m pleased for the supporters. Those who had come and those who didn’t come. A lot have lost belief. I’d have probably lost belief. We’ve just got to take this and not get carried away. We’re back in tomorrow and do some more good work ahead of Barrow because obviously there will be some tired bodies now, but they won’t be tired after a couple of days.”
‘In an ideal world, we didn’t want to have to put Ellis Harrison on the bench today. He’s fit. He’s trained for a few days now, but we had him on the bench in case we needed a goal, and we didn’t need the goal, but the staff reminded me how important it was for confidence for a clean sheet. For Luke and the back boys, and we knew when they’ve got a set play to defend, putting Ellis in there, and he’s monumental in both boxes. So we put him on, and that’s a plus for us, but really, the boys who produced the performance from the start, I thought it was bright and energetic.’ Rovers Head Coach Steve Evans
“You could see the fans clap the players off at half-time and not often 0-0 away at half time do you get that. But they believed that they were watching a solid away performance here. I think the second half was solid, it was strong, we played some great football, and the goals will be a joy to watch.”
It’s a good feeling to start the New Year, to keep going, to go back to winning games, and it’s a very, very good feeling. I saw the long ball from Luke, and then Shaq was one versus one there. As a striker, you have to be near the goal, near the ball, and I saw it happen, and I ran through. I was simply in front of it all; they needed that touch, and it was in. Shaq did a very good job. He plays the ball to me, it was a very hard ball, yeah, but one touch and then I knew with the ball coming behind me, I knew what I had to do, a good touch and then a finish. You have to be quick, and it went in.
‘After the second goal, I had a good feeling, but I never thought about the hat trick or another goal. But then the next attack comes, and I saw Joel Senior with the ball, and I said to myself that I have to run in the box, and maybe the ball comes to me, or maybe not, and someone else will score. It comes again to me; I get a good touch, and then I finish it.
‘It was a special feeling. In the celebration, I said to myself, yeah, wow, it’s my first hat trick in professional football, and that means a lot to me, and it gives me so much confidence and obviously to the club and the team. We see that we can fight and we can win games again, and it means a lot to us.’ Rovers striker Fabrizio Cavegn
‘I’ve felt under pressure about three games in, that hasn’t changed. The reality is we’re in a position that we don’t want to be in, and I certainly don’t want to be in. Is the pressure on? Probably, and rightly so. I’m not going to shy away from anything and I completely understand it. The frustrations at times can boil over, but that’s football and it’s the world we live in these days.
‘The fans are obviously disappointed to lose such a big game against a team close to us and I understand people’s frustrations, but this is not the first time I’ve been in this type of situation. I’ve got to stay positive, I’ve got to try and help the players and motivate them to challenge themselves every day and look forward to the games that we’ve got coming up.
‘From an emotional point of view the first goal was a little bit of a calamity situation. We certainly could have dealt with it better, and then the other two goals come from us trying to press, us trying to get the equaliser and then a little bit of desperation from them. That’s the emotional side of me, but the logical side of it is that up until their first goal we’ve had two big chances in the game, one on ones, that unfortunately we weren’t able to take, and we’ve been badly punished.’ Shrewsbury Boss Michael Appleton
