Bristol Rovers 0 Shrewsbury 0 - Report

It was another point on the road for Paul Hurst's men who have now lost just one of their six clashes away from home since the boss returned for his second spell in charge of the club.

In the context of the league season, it was not the worst result as the bottom five League One sides all lost - meaning Salop increased the gap between them and the relegation zone to seven points with five games to play.

Arguably, they were lucky to get a point at The Memorial Stadium as the hosts missed a string of chances firstly with Chris Martin in the first half.

And then with Grant Ward missing from close range and Jevani Brown hitting the post late on.

At the other end, Town hit the bar through Aiden O'Brien but were unable to build any sustained pressure on Bristol's goal.

REPORT

Town made the trip to Bristol on the back of an impressive late comeback against Oxford on Good Friday.

The hero of that clash was Jack Price, as his late volley secured a valuable point for Paul Hurst's men in Shropshire.

The disappointing thing for Hurst was Town's super sub was unable to feature in the game at The Memorial Stadium. He was suffering from muscle soreness as he continued his comeback from a bad Achilles injury.

Tom Bayliss was ill on Friday, but he recovered in time to re-take his place in the starting XI, and there was also a rare start for Tunmise Sobowale as Tom Bloxham dropped to the bench.

With some difficult fixtures on the horizon - including trips to Portsmouth, Bolton and Charlton - this looked like a game on paper that Hurst's team needed to get something out of.

It was Bristol who had the better of the first half though. After a scrappy opening 10 minutes, Chris Martin was played in by Brandon Aguiler, but the in-form striker's effort went wide of Marko Marosi's right post.

Town were unable to put any pressure on their hosts in the opening 45 minutes, and the Gas looked far more likely to take the lead.

Their skipper Sam Finley saw a shot from the edge of the box blocked behind from a corner by Tom Flanagan.

Bristol had not scored in their previous four League One games and were coming off the back of a disappointing result at Port Vale on Good Friday - losing 2-0.

But they continued to be the side that pressed for the opener, Martin with another chance to score, Marosi was there to deny him this time.

Town did not have a shot on target in the first period and their play lacked urgency, which was perhaps summed up when Aiden O'Brien set up Bayliss in added-on time, but his effort was poor - flying into the away fans behind the goal.

Town's best chance of the game came within minutes of the re-start. Out of nowhere, O'Brien unleashed a powerful shot from the corner of the box and with Jed Ward beaten it rattled the crossbar.

Hurst's team were much better after the break, and Dan Udoh had several shots deflected behind when in promising positions - he caused the Gas some headaches.

It was a quiet afternoon inside The Memorial Stadium. In part to do with Bristol's points tally before a ball was kicked. They had already hit the magic 50-point mark and were in rotten form.

Ward, who was on as a substitute should have given them the lead though. Luke Thomas pulled the ball back to him, and he scuffed his effort from 12 yards out.

Hurst went to his bench with 15 minutes to go introducing Jack Hinchy, Ryan Bowman and Roland Idowu, but Bristol still looked the more likely as Martin headed over from a corner.

Town could consider themselves lucky when substitute Brown hit the post with five minutes to go, and Thomas could only smash the rebound into the side netting.

Bowman tested out Ward late on, but in truth, Town did not do enough to win the game but despite that, they left Bristol with a point which could be invaluable at the end of the season.

Shrews: Marosi, Feeney, Dunkley, Flanagan, Benning, Winchester, Perry (Bowman 75), Bayliss (Hinchy 75), O'Brien (Idowu 75), Sobowale (Bloxham 60), Udoh.

Subs: Burgoyne, Hinchy, Idowu, Sraha, Bloxham, Bennett, Bowman.

Bristol: Ward, Gordon, Wilson, Finley, Sinclair (Brown 83), Aguilera (Ward 58), Taylor, Martin (Marquis 83), Vale (Thomas 66), Evans, Hoole.

Subs: Cox, Connolly, Ward, Marquis, Thomas, Brown, McCormick.