Shrewsbury Town share a point with Bristol Rovers.
Rovers: Jack Bonham, Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, Tom Lockyer, Tony Craig, Liam Sercombe, Tom Nichols (Alex Jakubiak, 51), Chris Lines, Gavin Reilly (Jonson Clarke-Hrris, 51), Joe Partington (James Clarke, 82), Abu Ogogo, Alex Rodman.
Subs: Adam Smith, Ed Upson, James Clarke, Alex Jakubiak, Jonson Clarke-Harris, Stuart Sinclair, Sam Matthews.
Town: Steve Arnold, Ro-Shaun Williams, Mat Sadler, Omar Beckles, Shaun Whalley, Fejiri Okenabirhie (Aaron Amadi-Holloway, 70), James Bolton, Scott Golbourne, Josh Laurent, Ollie Norburn (Greg Docherty, 53) (David Edwards, 79), Anthony Grant.
Subs: Jonathan Williams, David Edwards, Greg Docherty, Tyrese Campbell, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Luke Waterfall, Ryan Sears.
Referee: Peter Wright
Assistants: Abbas Khan and Andrew Laver
Fourth official: Thomas Harty
Town’s afternoon in Bristol came to an end with both teams taking home a point.
Shaun Whalley’s first-half goal wasn’t enough to secure all three points at the Rovers’ Memorial Stadium.
Team News: Sam Ricketts handed a start and debut to Town new boy Ro-Shaun Williams as the defender replaced Luke Waterfall in the Town back line.
First Half:
The first opening minutes went by with both teams feeling out the opposition. Rovers looked strong on the wings, just as Town did with Shaun Whalley and Scott Golbourne looking dangerous.
Ollie Norburn and Anthony Grant were getting stuck in around the middle of the park and were continually looking to frustrate the home sides middle unit at any given chance.
The home side nearly had the ball in the back of the net just before the 15-minute mark. Liam Sercombe received a stroke of luck and found himself in the box one-on-one with Steve Arnold, but the keeper made himself big and did well to parry the ball away.
Joe Partington was given a yellow card midway into the half. The defender mistimed his tackle on Josh Laurent on the left flank.
Abu Ogogo and Norburn were both booked shortly after for a coming together.
With 15 minutes to go, Josh Laurent had chance to fire a shot off at goal from range. The midfielder managed to pick the ball up on the edge of the box but couldn’t guide his effort on target.
Some great play from Laurent and Shaun Whalley opened up the game for Town and Sam Ricketts’ men managed to take the lead in the 35th minute. A neat one-two pass from the pair saw Town’s number seven inside the box where he calmly slotted the ball past Jack Bonham.
The home side had a chance to break even with the last kick of the half with a free kick but the Gas couldn’t get a head on the ball.
The half came to an end with Town going into the break with a one-goal advantage.
Second Half:
Just 10 minutes into the second-half former Town winger Alex Rodman managed to pull the Gas back on level terms. Rodman drove well into the box to meet a cross that he headed into the top corner.
The home side came out for the second-half and took the game to Town. The only thing denying the Gas another goal was a great diving save from Arnold after Tareiq Holmes-Dennis fired a strong curling effort towards goal.
Second-half sub Greg Docherty came inches away from giving Town another goal. Whalley slipped the ball into the midfielder but Docherty narrowly missed the target with his driven effort.
Another great save from Arnold denied the Gas a goal. Sercombe found himself with a yard of space in the box but Arnold’s strong hands matched his powerful close range effort.
Scott Golbourne was given a yellow card in the 69th minute for a strong challenge on his left flank.
The game was starting to close up, as both teams weren’t willing to take huge risks. Despite the compact midfields, Laurent was still pushing forward and letting off effort at goal.
Dave Edwards was given a straight red card in the 86th minute for a challenge in the middle of the park.
The game came to an end with both teams taking home a point after an intense competitive match.