Shrewsbury vs Tranmere

[Rockford's Love Child]

Mixed bag from Rovers by the sound of it, but Corey grabs a late winner and appeared to be very involved along with Morris. Defensive issues persist however.

Ellis and Clarke were excellent as a defensive pair and the all round performance was much improved.

 

[Boz]

We thoroughly deserved the victory. Well played Rovers !

Ellis and Clarke were excellent as a defensive pair and the all round performance was much improved.

So Sparky and bigmart were wrong to suggest we had difficulty with set pieces again and Clarke was at fault for the Shrews first goal?

It was a great win in the end, but it seemed like the hosts had ample opportunity to win it, before Corey’s stunner.

 

[aldoes mustache]

well done rovers much over due lets hope it gets the lads started . and they go on a run upwards and forwards . good seeing Ellis back .. a welcome and massive 3 points

 

[Sparky]

I saw both Shrews goals and the first was a simple corner to the back post and Pierre headed it in, looking like he got in front of Clarke.

That said, 3 points is all that matters and the manner of the win could do wonders.

 

[Ian]

It was a great win in the end, but it seemed like the hosts had ample opportunity to win it, before Corey’s stunner.

They also had their fair share of chances. Both sides were guilty of some poor defending and finishing and the game could have gone either way in the last 15 but Rovers just seemed the brighter unit and CBT caused them problems all night with his pace and ability to run at people.

I was impressed with their attitude when Shrewsbury drew level as their heads did not drop. Nice to see Ellis back out there too.

 

[Sparky]

Really need CBT to be more consistent. Sometimes he is unstoppable and others looks disinterested. That’s young players for you but without him at the moment we would struggle to score many. Shame cookie didn’t get one

 

[keep the faith]

great result though I win doesn't make us safe but at last we turned up and gave it a go now roll on saturday

 

[Ian]

great result though I win doesn't make us safe

True but it gives us a fighting chance. Let's enjoy our first win since December! A defeat tonight probably would have been curtains really.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

I'm not sure whether the way we won might have done more good than simply hanging on to a 2-0 win. Not winning from 2-0 would have been a real downer, so that winning goal - however late - could change the momentum of the season.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

So Sparky and bigmart were wrong to suggest we had difficulty with set pieces again and Clarke was at fault for the Shrews first goal?

It was a great win in the end, but it seemed like the hosts had ample opportunity to win it, before Corey’s stunner.

I watched the game and I am giving my opinion.

We had better chances than them in open play (in my opinion). We could have been three or four up at half time.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I think it was an excellent performance tonight.

Although I was gutted that we let the early lead slip, I did not think it was a case of Rovers capitulating, unlike other recent matches. In the first half we had further chances to put the game completely to bed, with their keeper pulling off two great saves to deny Cook. Shrewsbury had a lot of the ball and huffed and puffed but Davies did not really have anything to do, and was well protected by the back four. At the start of the second half they upped their game, bringing on Cummings to partner Lang, but I thought their second goal was the only occasion that we defended really poorly as a team, losing our shape and applying no pressure to the ball.

As Ian says above, the biggest positive was probably our response to their equaliser. In recent weeks heads would have dropped at that stage, but we largely dominated the last twenty five minutes, albeit Shrewsbury still had a threat on the counter attack. Morris had a great chance to win it for us before CBT's goal.

In general, I thought we looked far more compact defensively than we have in recent games and probably created more chances tonight than we have in the previous two months. Confidence is returning to the players and the service to the strikers was much improved.

I thought everybody put a shift in and played well, but Clarke and Ellis were outstanding as a centre back pairing and are exactly what we need: no-nonsense defenders who will take responsibility and head and kick the ball. I lost the count of the number of blocks they made, in the first half in particular. Woodyard and Ridehalgh were very good again and I thought Morris played really well, again benefiting from a better pitch which he could actually dribble on. Cook led the line brilliantly in the first half before tiring, but my man of the match was CBT. He effectively won us the game tonight, with a brilliant cross for the opening goal and an exquisite finish for the winner, from a very tight angle. He was always available for the ball and kept trying to beat players, even when Shrewsbury doubled up on him in the second half. Yes, he is young and inconsistent, but he is a match winner.

If we perform like we did tonight for the rest of the season, we have a real chance of staying up.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Just wanted to add that the substitutions were excellent and turned the game in our favour. Jennings was very good when he came on, finding pockets of space and imaginative on the ball, and that change was crucial to us getting the upper hand in the closing stages.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Just wanted to add that the substitutions were excellent and turned the game in our favour. Jennings was very good when he came on, finding pockets of space and imaginative on the ball, and that change was crucial to us getting the upper hand in the closing stages.

What was our formation after the first two subs? Was it 4-5-1 or did CBT move forward to retain our 4-4-2 shape? If the latter, then the subs and reorganisation were truly inspired.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

What was our formation after the first two subs? Was it 4-5-1 or did CBT move forward to retain our 4-4-2 shape? If the latter, then the subs and reorganisation were truly inspired.

We switched to 451 with Jennings behind Cook. McCullough was starting to tire and Shrewsbury were beginning to get control of midfield, so it was an important change. Perkins was tidy and did the defensive stuff well and Jennings was very influential in the final third.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

We switched to 451 with Jennings behind Cook. McCullough was starting to tire and Shrewsbury were beginning to get control of midfield, so it was an important change. Perkins was tidy and did the defensive stuff well and Jennings was very influential in the final third.

Thanks. Micky will sleep well tonight I'm sure. A good job done against his old club.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Thanks. Micky will sleep well tonight I'm sure. A good job done against his old club.

Indeed.

 

[ONIGP]

Wow, 90+5 strikes again! An entertaining match and dreamland being 2 up after quarter of an hour. The first goal after half time was always going to be critical and I felt that if they scored it we would have big problems. While I was right there, I really wasn't expecting us to have the heart to grab the winner. A great effort and, as mentioned, it was great to see that our heads didn't drop at 2-2. The substitutions revitalized us when we needed and Jennings was very influential after he came on and hit the pace of the game immediately. He was certainly playing a more advanced role than he usually does and was very effective.

I thought Ellis had a really good game. Ellis and Manny are like chalk and cheese; Ellis having no qualms about putting the ball into the stand rather than risking any danger while Manny would try to step his man in the same position. Ellis is probably what we need in our current situation, low risk and no-nonsense. As mentioned numerous times above CBT had an excellent match tonight. Something must have been said because we were looking to play to him right from the outset and, while he didn't deliver every time he gave their right back a torrid time and a goal and an assist speak for themselves. I noticed in the first half in particular he was also doing his tracking back duties. Not committing to tackles but getting in front of the ball, forcing the pass, which is sufficient in my book. Generally, we did appear to be getting more players forward more quickly than has been evident of late.

Obviously worrying that we let the 2 goal lead slip but I thought we deserved the victory. It could have been more if Morris hadn't missed 2 good chances in the second half, one saved and one over the bar. Most of Shrewsbury's chances and Davies' saves were in the second half and were a bit more difficult to follow from the away end. In fact the first 4 goals were all at that end with only the most important one in front of the SWA.

A great touch by Micky performing the obligatory "salute" in tandem with CBT at the end of the match.

Bloody dreadful journey down there taking about an hour and a half to do the last 6 miles or so but well worth it and the ghosts of last year's mickeymouse.com Trophy hammering well and truly exorcised! What a great few sporting days - Fury battering Wilder in the US, England stuffing Ireland and A ROVERS AWAY WIN.

In a season like this I'm not holding my breath,, but wouldn't Saturday be the perfect time to put together back to back wins?

 

[drwhoman]

Just seen the highlights. A great individual goal by CBT after smart thinking by the much maligned Davies. I was reading some pretty nauseous comments about Scott on another website. Some people have very short memories and are quick to criticise. Mind you, even Rovers have some fans with half a brain! A great win.

 

[aldoes mustache]

well i had a few beers on the back of that . lets hope the game is on at the weekend . the amount of water dumped on the wirral has been mad . it would be great to get that home win. we all deserve it

 

[Ian]

Obviously worrying that we let the 2 goal lead slip but I thought we deserved the victory.

Yes, we did but isn't it a strange game where we went through a period not able to buy a goal and then we score three in one match. The defensive frailties are still there as we simply cannot defend set pieces. Maybe we should take on the Kevin Keegan philosophy of making sure we score more than the opposition every week. That would make an entertaining end to the season!