THE GAME
This was a game that Rovers couldn’t really afford to lose and, thankfully, they didn’t; at times it was scrappy, at times they had chances to win, at others they might have lost and not come away from The Croud Meadow with a valuable point.
Inigo Calderon made just two changes to the side beaten by Rotherham United at the weekend and changed from a back four to a back three. Lino Sousa and skipper Scott Sinclair were the players left out of the side and they were replaced by Connor Taylor and Clinton Mola.
A quiet opening spell and the game meant that 20 minutes had passed before we saw the first real chance. That came from the home side when Jed Ward touched a header from Funsu Ojo’s header over the bar.
The resulting corner saw Ward make a comfortable save from a Mal Benning shot. At the other end Jack Hunt, up in support of his forwards, was unfortunate to be denied a goal by a tremendous goal line block by former Rovers defender Luca Hoole.
The best opportunity for the home side arrived just before the break, when David Wheeler ran on to Josh Feeney’s ball over the top, only to see his final shot well saved by Ward.
Calderon made a change at the start of the second half, sending on Promise Omochere in place of Grant Ward and the striker almost made an immediate impact, as he saw his headed effort cleared off the line by Ojo.
Benning squandered a good opportunity to give his side the lead, firing over the bar when well placed, while Chris Martin was denied a goal for Rovers when Jamal Blackman saved well from his angled header.
Substitute Stewart hit the post as the home side pushed forward in search of a goal and in time added on Sotiriou saved Rovers with a professional foul on Harrison Biggins. Whilst there were some who thought the Rovers man should have seen red, he wasn’t the last man and was correctly given a yellow card.
The resulting free kick, taken by Jordan Shipley, was well gathered by Ward to preserve the clean sheet and a valuable point.
THEY SAID WHAT?
‘It was a good game of football. I am quite happy with the boys. Obviously, you want to win, and I think we did enough things to win, but I cannot ask too much for the players. I said to the boys at the end, the fans are like a court. They give you the result and what they say, you have to take it. Today, I would say the fans are proud of the boys. In the end, that’s what we have to do. We are here for the fans, and at least the ones who came can go home thinking the boys tried everything.
‘When we are in the last third, we need to show more composure and show more quality sometimes as well. In the end, it is coming from a good place. The boys want to create something and win the game. That’s more up to me. I have to make them see that a bit more clearly, but firstly and more importantly in the passion and the character they showed.
‘I think it was a good game. It was the first time that we started with a back three. I think we did quite good. I was quite happy with that. Still, we conceded a couple of chances that we have to review because I think we had control of the game, but we still conceded chances. That’s the bit we have to improve because I always say when you are under control, you cannot allow that many chances because it can go either way. That’s not right because I think we were better than them for most of the game.’ (Rovers Head Coach Inigo Calderon)
‘We’re all frustrated in there, but it’s important not to get too down. We know the situation we’re in. Every point matters and that could prove to be a vital point come the end of the season. I think it was one of those games that could have gone either way. We huffed and puffed and created a few chances, a few goalmouth scrambles that could have gone in, but the same goes for them.
‘It’s a tough place to come. They’ve beaten a few big teams here, so we’ve got to see the positives. It’s a clean sheet away from home. We’ve not had enough of them. It’s a point, and at the end of the day, it might be a big point. It gives you a right chance if you can keep the backdoor shut, and I thought we did that tonight. We just couldn’t quite find that final killer pass to put us ahead.
‘I’ll be honest, there’s been massive frustration this year. It’s got to mean the absolute world. First and foremost, we’ve got to be a team. We won’t get anywhere with any individuals, and I thought the fans that came could see that we gave everything there tonight. I’m gutted we couldn’t send them home with three points, but it’s another point. If we play to what we think we can do, especially at home, we’ve shown we can get results against anyone. We’ll be going to The Mem on Saturday confident, and we’ll be well prepared for it. (Rovers Defender Connor Taylor)
‘I thought the lads were brilliant. They’ve emptied the tank, as they’re doing now which is fantastic to see, every one of them. I thought the subs made a big impact when we changed it and put some fresh legs on while we looked attacking. We could have conceded a couple, but they’ve really held out well today. I’m really pleased that there’s a clean sheet on the cards there because we’ve needed one for a while.
‘For the want of a lick of paint, we’ve just come up short attacking wise. I think if Harrison Biggins doesn’t get brought down cynically like that he gets his shot off. Whether it goes in or not, I don’t know, but there was a nasty foul on him going through. I think Callum Stewart’s hit the post. There were some fantastic moves. We just couldn’t get that final touch and that final bit of magic. (Shrewsbury Manager Gareth Ainsworth)
A FEW FACTS