Marcus Braddock takes a look at all things Shrewsbury Town
Another week has passed which means it's time for a look back at last week and then a peek at what's to come over the coming seven days for Shrewsbury Town.
On the pitch we had a couple of very important games although the first one arguably had a little more prestige than the second. On Tuesday night we visited Molineux in Wolverhampton for our Emirates F.A. Cup fourth round replay. After a 2nd minute goal from Matt Doherty I was wondering if we were going to end the night with a heavy defeat but James Bolton popped up 10 minutes later to equalize with a great header. Josh Laurent got a second goal from distance that squirmed underneath John Ruddy and into the goal but we couldn't hold the lead. Just a few minutes later Wolves got their equaliser after a great cross that found the head of Doherty. I thought Steve Arnold was fouled by Cavaleiro which took him out of the equation but the officials didn't agree. Once Wolves had equalized, it looked like they would be the most likely to progress and it was Cavaleiro who scored the winner after weaving his way through the box and sliding the ball under Steve Arnold.
It's always sad to see us go out of any cup competition but we've given the proverbial good account of ourselves against higher league opposition four times now in this competition and that should be a source of pride for all of us. Especially because of the distractions this season with managers and players changing during the course of the competition. We've shown a desire and tenacity in the F.A. Cup this season that I would like to see us fully transfer over to our Sky Bet League One campaign.
Speaking of League One, we had just a few days to recover and then prepare for our away game at Bristol Rovers, a team that we've shared personnel and points with already this season. Our first half was pretty pleasing and Shaun Whalley's 36th minute goal was good to see as he had worked as hard as anyone to engineer an opening. The Rovers goal was difficult to watch and although it was a good cross, it's difficult not to share Sam Ricketts disappointment at the way we conceded from a set piece. Having said that, an away point is always a handy thing to have if you can keep your home form ticking over. Other positives to take from the game are the return of Shaun Whalley, as has been said in the media already, it's almost like having a new player to Sam Ricketts. With new players in mind, it was great to see Ro-Shaun Williams make a good start to life with Shrewsbury Town, he looks to have real quality and his pace is just what we need in our defence. Dave Edwards' sending off looked a little harsh to me. Rovers had been putting pressure on the officials all game and in my view, that may have contributed to the decision. You can see that Dave's busting a gut to do his best for us and maybe that enthusiasm was seen as something more sinister by the referee.
The youth team didn't play last week as their Saturday game at Morecambe was called off. They don't have another Youth Alliance game until 23rd of February when they play Walsall at home.
The coming week sees the supporters Parliament meet tomorrow night at 7.00 pm at Montgomery Waters Meadow, as always everyone is welcome to attend.
The coming weekend brings us a home game against Burton Albion who have beaten us 2-1 twice already this season. They've only lost once in League One this calendar year and have won twice in League One over the same period, both of which were away games and both clean sheets. So another difficult game but fortunately we have no Tuesday game for the first time in a while so there is the chance re-charge the batteries.