Analysis: Shrewsbury Town's Rovers reverse as a lack of bodies bites
This was an extremely poor defeat for Town.
Steve Cotterill’s men have made progress over the last six to eight weeks and, even after last Wednesday’s harsh last-gasp reserve at high-flying Wigan, Town travelled to Doncaster with a huge chance to put a gap between themselves and League One’s main strugglers.
It was a chance they let slip through their grasp meekly as the division’s bottom side, having lost five on the bounce and not won in six, provided a late sting to rub salt in gaping Salop wounds and condemn their visitors to a ninth defeat in 11 away league games.
That’s a run in which Town have taken just two points on the road and remain winless. Only Doncaster – ironically – have a worse away record. Some return for the group of die-hard Town fans who serenade their team all over the country. The 366 hardy Shrews fans in South Yorkshire were loud all afternoon long at the Keepmoat.
Doncaster didn’t deserve this victory. The managerless Rovers were poor, they looked like a side rooted to the wrong end of the table with a confidence-sapped side.
Shrewsbury created chance after chance in the second half. It was one-way traffic for a good 25 minutes as Doncaster hardly broke out of their own half.
But Town were simply unable to find their killer touch. The absence of injured top goalscorer Ryan Bowman was felt. Opportunities, clear ones, had to be taken.
When you don’t, you always leave yourselves open to be caught on the sucker-punch, no matter the quality of the opposition.
And for the umpteenth time this season – albeit they have improved of late – Town were undone by a corner, from which woeful defending was sufficiently punished by centre-half Joseph Olowu, who had been unconvincing at best in defence.
It was a week where Shrewsbury’s lack of numbers and available bodies caught up with them.
It has been threatening for a while. All season in fact. Town didn’t cope with it well early on, but found a foothold and results have followed.
For a while, however, it felt like Cotterill’s men had been at breaking point regarding availability. They have fielded a league bench with three 18-year-old academy defenders who are never likely to be involved, a youth forward and two loans who are almost entirely out of the picture.
Injuries and suspensions have bit. And the paper-thin squad has wilted.
Cotterill was extremely frustrated at Wigan where the two substitutes he turned to, Rekeil Pyke and Sam Cosgrove after injuries to Bowman and young Tom Bloxham, let their side down in allowing Thelo Aasgaard all the time in the world to creep forward and strike the winner from distance.
But, a few days later in Doncaster, he had no other options but to name one of them in the line-up with Bowman missing. Pyke got the nod but was ineffective. Cosgrove tellingly remained on the bench with just one sub – loan midfielder Khanya Leshabela – coming on with little impact at the death.
The manager rightly points to an extremely challenging week. A trio of away legs featuring games at Carlisle, Wigan and Doncaster was a tough ask on paper. That is circa 770 miles from Shrewsbury. Most of the week was on the team coach. The kind of week not good on the muscles in freezing conditions.
But Cotterill’s talk of tiredness and a lack of sharpness after the extremely disappointing Rovers reverse will be batted away by some Town fans who argue that is a result of incomplete summer transfer business and a squad not built big enough to cope with a demanding schedule.
Town have four first-teamers injured and one suspended. Five out – although one victim Aaron Pierre has found himself a back-up – is a tough hand dealt but to have no viable back-up options has become an issue over the last week.
As bad as the defeat was it cannot be a knee-jerk reaction. Shrewsbury have done well over the last couple of months to begin to steer themselves in the right direction.
But the concern they were the loss of just one more key player – in this case seven-goal Bowman – away from the squad cracking was always there for supporters, who hope the patched-up squad can soldier on and limp through to January before reinforcements arrive.
Town were better than Doncaster and created chance to win about five football matches.
Daniel Udoh should’ve nodded in a winner, Luke Leahy and Matt Pennington should’ve scored from set-pieces. George Nurse’s long throw was a huge weapon. And Leahy, the versatile star, keeps getting better. He was the game’s standout player.
Threadbare Town must lick gaping wounds and get ready for a quick reunion with Cotterill’s old boys Cheltenham, after the defeat last month, at the Meadow next week. Shrews, who slipped down to 20th, must show they can respond despite the depth concern.
