'He won't speak to me' – Shrewsbury's Ryan Bowman upsets Grandad John after Carlisle strike
Ryan Bowman admits he upset his Carlisle United-mad Grandad John by scoring against his home city club for Shrewsbury Town.
The Town top scorer made it seven goals for the season with a decisive second on his return to Brunton Park as Steve Cotterill's men qualified for round three of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win.
Bowman, who turned 30 last week, used to stand on the terraces behind the dugouts at Carlisle's famous old ground – just metres from where he conducted Saturday's post-match interview – with his Grandad John Bowman, who remains an die-hard Blues supporter, but was unfortunately unable to attend the second round tie.
The striker, who was born in the city and played youth and first-team football for the club, struck 10 minutes from time to put the visitors 2-0 up against League Two United, a clinical finish celebrated joyfully by the rest of the Bowman clan who were part of the 351-strong away end.
Bowman said: "My grandad is a big Carlisle fan, unfortunately he wasn't here today, but my mum and dad, aunty, cousins, friends, little brothers and my daughter, were all over there celebrating, it was a great moment for me.
"Maybe it was Shrewsbury heads but maybe at heart Carlisle! My grandad, bless him, he's a die-hard Carlisle fan, so he probably won't talk to me this weekend."
The striker added: "I used to stand right there with my grandad, I'd come when I was nine years old, until I was 15 and then I started playing for the youth team. We stood right there.
"It was brilliant, it brings back so many memories, I played on this pitch so many times – mainly for the reserves and youth team as well as the first team – my friends and family were here watching, so it's a brilliant day."
Bowman is looking forward to Monday evening's third round draw and would like a new experience of facing a Premier League big-hitter.
He said: "(I'd like) a big team away. I've never played against a huge team in the Cup, so I'd desperate to get a big team, Newcastle away would be good. I'll be watching."
The striker settled the tie 10 minutes from time with a deadly finish into Mark Howard's bottom right corner after bamboozling a defender when cutting back on to his right foot after collecting a fine Daniel Udoh pass as Town won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
"It was a great through ball from Dan," Bowman added. "I didn't know whether to shoot on my left or not, but it was a bit far out and I'm not great with my left foot, so I tried to get it on my right to give myself a better chance."
