Rovers reacted to their 1-0 defeat at home to AFC Wimbledon last Saturday with a 1-1 draw away at the early table-toppers Shrewsbury Town who also extended their unbeaten run to 8 games from 9 played.
The side that lined up for Rovers was tweaked in comparison to the 18 that was picked for the defeat last time out, as Bradley Dack and Danny Graham both came in to replace the injured Craig Conway and Marcus Antonsson who dropped to the bench. The bench was also changed by Tony Mowbray as he introduced new signing Sam Hart as well as youngster Lewis Travis who was also brought along as added extra defensive cover due to the number of defensive injuries that Rovers have, to the likes of Scott Wharton and Darragh Lenihan.
Rovers started the game on the front-foot straight from kick-off as Bradley Dack got the game underway for the visitors. It didn’t take long for Rovers to show Shrewsbury the quality that they possessed within the ranks as they racked up two successive corners within the first three minutes of the game; however both set-pieces amassed to nothing. Despite this, Rovers had the first attempt at breaking the deadlock on the 5th minute mark as a delicate chipped ball by Elliott Bennett was played into the Shrewsbury box, just outside their six-yard box to which Dominic Samuel connected with, however the unmarked former Reading forward was unable to steer his header towards goal in a manner that would trouble Dean Henderson in the Shrews goal.
Despite it being an end to end game, it lacked any real cutting edge quality that would put either side in-front and this was seen by the lack of chances in the first half as the next notable opportunity came in the 24th minute. Paul Caddis had possession of the ball down Shrewsbury’s right-hand side and he whipped in a ball into the box where the ball was met by the head of Bradley Dack, who – much like Samuel beforehand – was left unmarked in the centre and much to the dismay of the Rovers fans, his effort ended up like Samuel’s – over the bar.
Shrewsbury slowed came into the game by the 25th minute as they were able to successfully withstand all the early pressure from Rovers. They were able to craft a solid attempt on goal as Shaun Whalley cut inside onto his left foot and curled the ball towards David Raya’s goal. Although the shot was deflected away by Rovers’ captain Charlie Mulgrew, things were looking up for the home side as they kept themselves in the game, despite the dominance of the visitors in the early stages.
Shrewsbury once again crafted an opportunity for themselves to break the deadlock on the 31st minute mark as their corner caused some confusion within Rovers’ defensive ranks and led to an attempt on goal for the home side. The corner was floated into the area and was met by the head of Shrewbury’s towering centre-half Aristote Nsiala, who’s thundering header crashed against the crossbar, forcing Rovers to scramble it away before the chance of a rebound was presented to the home side’s forwards.
The final chance on goal in the first half, on the 35th minute, fell to Rovers once again as Bradley Dack weaved his way down the Shrewsbury right-hand side and delivered a cross from the by-line to the centre, which was met by the head of Richie Smallwood who made the run from deep and unfortunately for Rovers, the defensive midfielder was unable to place his header on target as Shrewsbury were given another goal-kick.
Both sides however would have gone into the break with some encouragement. The visitors probably less so, due to the number of missed opportunities they were unable to take, however the home side would have looked upon this with positivity as they aimed to keep their unbeaten run intact.
The second-half was set underway by the hosts who were looking to assert their dominance and put their stamp on the game in contrast to the first half where they were out-played. This desire of ‘asserting their dominance’ however was not put into practice straight away as Rovers picked up where they left of as they created the first couple of chances of the second period.
Rovers conjured up two opportunities within a minute of each other in order to break the deadlock for the first time in the match. Derrick Williams came first on the 53rd minute as he picked up the ball on the outside of Shrewsbury’s penalty area following Rovers’ corner being cleared. He cut inside from the left hand side position he was occupying, took one touch to steady himself and released a venomous shot towards Dean Henderson’s left hand side of the goal but fortunately for the Manchester United loanee, the ball found the advertising hoarding, rather than his net. The second opportunity Rovers came seconds later as Charlie Mulgrew stood over a free-kick and struck it well, towards the near post, although, the strike was met by the gloves of Dean Henderson, which kept the scores level.
Shrewbury’s fans would have been very frustrated with their teams’ lack of clear-cut opportunities at goal by the 57th minute; however their frustrations would soon turn into jubilation as they were put 1-0 up via Aristote Nsiala who had previously warned Rovers about his prowess in the box during the first half. The 25-year old defender volleyed the ball home from point blank ranged after Rovers failed to clear their lines, additionally, David Raya became attracted to the ball and failed to establish control of the ball, which popped up nicely for the Shrewsbury man.
Following the goal, the chances came thick and fast for both teams as Rovers became more open as they looked for the equaliser. Elliott Bennett was the instigator of the first ‘post-goal’ chance as he picked up the ball outside the area and took a shot at goal, which trickled past the Shrewsbury post.
The hosts also crafted a chance of their own with 15 minutes left on the clock as they tried to put the game beyond Rovers’ reach. A speedy counter-attack led by Stefan Payne was halted by David Raya in the Rovers goal. The forward was played through by a teammate and fought off a 2-on-1 situation involving Rovers defenders before having a shot at goal, which was superbly saved by the Spaniard using his legs.
As the anxiety increased amongst the travelling contingency, Tony Mowbray opted for a triple change in order to freshen up his side as they looked to grab, at least, an equaliser. Danny Graham, Elliott Bennett and Corry Evans were all replaced by Marcus Antonsson, Harry Chapman and Peter Whittingham respectively. These changes seemed to have had the desired effect as three minutes later, two of the three changes combined to craft a chance for the Blues. Antonsson’s crossed ball was met by the head of Harry Chapman whose attempt went straight down the throat of Dean Henderson who made a comfortable save.
10 minutes after Chapman failed to equalise, Bradley Dack opened his Rovers account with 6 minutes to go, plus stoppage time, as Rovers grabbed an equaliser right at the death to level the scores. Harry Chapman dribbled down the right-hand side as he left two defenders for dead and crossed from the by-line. The ball fell to the feet of Bradley Dack who was surrounded by blue shirts; however he found a way to squeeze the ball past them all and the keeper to level the scoring.
Shrewsbury immediately made a change following the goal in order to try and conjure up a late winner as Stefan Payne left the field and was replaced by fellow forward Carlton Morris and the change sparked something within the Shrewsbury ranks as the next attempt at goal fell to them. Shrewsbury’s captain Abu Ogogo’s volley was saved by David Raya, which resulted in a quick Rovers counter-attack. Bradley Dack picked up the ball and played it through to Harry Chapman whose effort from distance, using the outside of his foot, was comfortably saved by the Shrewsbury keeper.
Shrewsbury rolled their dice for the final time as they made their remaining two changes in order to try and create something new that would potentially trouble the Rovers back four; Ebou Adams came on for Ben Godfrey, whilst Louis Dodds replaced Shaun Whalley.
Despite both sides angling for a winner, the game ended how it started – in a stalemate – which was sure to cause Tony Mowbray to leave the Montgomery Waters Meadow scratching his head as to how his side were unable to leave with all three points. Nevertheless, the added point leaves Rovers 9th in the table with 13 points, four off 6th spot and ten behind today’s hosts who top the division, Shrewsbury Town.
