Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury Town Match Preview

 

By Simon Gray

Bristol Rovers will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at Coventry last weekend as they entertain Shrewsbury Town at the Memorial Stadium.

Rovers go into the final six matches of the League One season knowing that if they want a play off spot, then they have to win at least five of their matches, and even that may not be enough.

Manager Darrell Clarke recently celebrated three years in charge of the club but has insisted that there is certainly more to do before it reaches the second tier of English football.

“Everything is subject to change, we’ve come a hell of a long way in the three years I’ve been in charge and we’ve had a lot of success,” Clarke told the Bristol Post.

“We want to be a Championship club, but don’t get me wrong we’re still a million miles away from that at the moment. But the infrastructure we are trying to put in place now on and around the pitch will help with that.”

“Come the summer it’s about the future and what we want to do in the future. For a long time it’s been ‘rag-arse Rovers’ hasn’t it? It really has, let’s be honest. What was it? Five promotions since 1883, the determination is we are not happy to be a League One team.”

Clarke will have defensive duo Jake Clarke-Salter and Ryan Sweeney back after the pair returned from international duty unscathed but Johnny Burn may miss the match after picking up an injury in the defeat at the Ricoh Arena.

Shrewsbury head into the match just one place and one point above the League One relegation zone.

Shrews manager Paul Hurst is hoping to emulate what his opposite number has done at Rovers with Shrewsbury.

“You hope so that we can do something similar, yes,” Hurst told the Shropshire Star.

“There’s quite a few of that group that’ve come from the Conference or ones that have played League Two. I’m not saying they’re not good enough players by any stretch, because clearly they are.

“I’m sure Darrell will have his own thoughts about taking them to the next level, nobody’s going to sit there and say ‘we’re alright’ – if you do that you’re in trouble.”

Hurst has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the trip to the Memorial Stadium. Shrewsbury’s only unavailable player is Abu Ogogo, who is likely to miss the rest of the campaign with a knee injury.

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Shrewsbury manager Paul Hurst was Grimsby Town boss when Rovers defeated them in the Conference Play Off final in 2015.

The reverse fixture between these sides ended in a 2-0 Shrewsbury win back in December.

Shrewsbury have not beaten Rovers away from home in the league since 1969.

Coventry City v Bristol Rovers Match Preview

 

By Simon Gray

Around 4000 Bristol Rovers fans will be travelling to Coventry this season hoping for their team to maintain their play off chase.

Rovers’ First Team coach spoke of how great it is to hear about the travelling support going into the weekend’s fixture.

“I’ve heard there will be 3,500 to 4,000 going up there, it’s fantastic”, Yates told the Bristol Post.

“Once again it shows they want to come and watch Rovers play and they know the players out on that pitch are going to give them everything.

“The support is just fantastic for the players and the club.

“My message to the fans is simply to back us as they always do. They’ve been fantastic since the Conference days when I came back here and they followed us everywhere in that season and everywhere since.

“I want everyone to get behind us as they always do.”

After last weekend’s win over Chesterfield, Darrell Clarke’s side are just three points off of the play offs but have it all to do with Millwall currently occupying sixth place and having two games in hand on Rovers but Yates has said all they can do is maintain their good run.

“All we can do is win games and see where it goes, we just want to pick up as many points as possible between now and the end of season.”

Rovers go into the game without Ryan Sweeney or Jake Clarke-Salter as the pair have both been called up by their countries for international duty with the Ireland U21 squad and the England U20s squad respectively. This means that Johnny Burn is set to get his first start since joining from Middlesbrough in January. Stuart Sinclair is back from suspension but Peter Hartley is still recovering from an Achilles injury.

Coventry head into the game on the back of a win of their own in midweek, beating relegation rivals Port Vale at the Ricoh Arena. The win is Mark Robins’ first since retaking charge of the club. The Sky Blues still remain bottom of the League One table, 14 points adrift of safety with just seven games to go.

The match may come too soon for journeyman striker Yakubu as he only returned to training this week after suffering a strain last month against Swindon Town but manager Robins spoke of his admiration of the 34-year-old.

“He’s had quality throughout the years, but we’ll need to work with him and assess him over the next week”, Robins told the club’s website, before adding, “No new injuries, we are as we were”.

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The last fixture between these sides came earlier this season where Rovers ran rampant and thrashed the Sky Blues 4-1 at the Memorial Stadium in December.

This is the first time Rovers have travelled to Coventry since 1963.

It will be the 41^st meeting between the two sides. Rovers have won 16, Coventry have won 15 with their being nine draws.

 

Bristol Rovers v Chesterfield Match Preview

 

By Simon Gray

Bristol Rovers will be looking to bounce back after a shock defeat in midweek away at Bury with a win against another struggling side in the form of Chesterfield.

Rovers lost 3-0 at Gigg Lane to dent their play off chances in a match that was filled with controversy. Rovers manager Darrell Clarke has admitted that the chances of his side booking a place in the top six are now ‘a long shot’.

“It is still a long shot,” Clarke told the Bristol Post.

“We have to win six out of the eight games we have left.

“That is where we are at, but I am very proud of my players for putting us in a situation where we are looking up and not down at this stage of the season.

“We had a setback at Bury on one of those nights when everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

“There were some major decisions that didn’t go our way so we move on quickly to another game on Saturday.

“That is the sole focus because I don’t feel the lads need to respond as it wasn’t a negative performance by any stretch of the imagination.”

Clarke will be without midfielder Stuart Sinclair for the match at the Memorial Stadium after his sending off at Gigg Lane. Ollie Clarke, who returns to the side after a suspension of his own, will probably replace him.

Striker Ellis Harrison is still nursing the injury he picked up at Bolton earlier this month so it looks like he will be unavailable. Peter Hartley is still recovering from an Achilles injury so will not feature.

Chesterfield go into the game struggling to put a run together that would save them from relegation to League Two.

The Spireites replaced Danny Wilson with Gary Caldwell just after the turn of the year but the former Wigan boss has been unable to turn the club in 23^rd in the league’s fortunes around.

Chesterfield are winless in three and have just one win in their last 11 games.

But despite them struggling this season, manager Caldwell still believes his side can beat the drop.

“Because of the games that are left,” he told the Derbyshire Times.

“Because of the players and the way they’re working, the morale about the place. “I don’t see people who’ve given up, I don’t see training being lacklustre, low on energy and quality.

“I believe that they believe and as long as they believe and we have points to play for them I think it can happen.”

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The reverse fixture of this match at the Proact Stadium ended in a 3-2 Chesterfield win back in November.

The last time Chesterfield visited the Memorial Stadium was in October 2013, where the two teams drew 0-0.

Chesterfield have only ever beaten Rovers away from home once in history, this being a League Cup victory in 1964.

Bury v Bristol Rovers Match Preview

 

By Simon Gray

Bristol Rovers travel to a relegation threatened team in the form of Bury this week as they continue to push for the play offs.

Rovers travel to Gigg Lane hoping to extend their nine match unbeaten run having beaten Southend United 2-0 last time out but manager Darrell Clarke insists his side are not getting carried away.

“We’re not getting carried away. People are talking about the play-offs, and that is something for the supporters to enjoy,” Clarke told the Bristol Post.

“We have to put that to one side and get in the mind-set of taking each game as it comes, as boring as it sounds.

“We’re chasing but six wins from our last nine games would get us there. You never know, but we have to concentrate on ticking the games off as they come along.”

With that win at home to Southend, Rovers now sit in eighth place and just four points off of Millwall in sixth, although the Lions have two games in hand over Rovers.

Rovers are without Ollie Clarke, who is serving the second of his two-match suspension. Fellow midfielder Stuart Sinclair missed the win over Southend after picking up a knock in training but Darrell Clarke gave no indication as to whether he would be available against Bury.

He is however boosted by the return of on-loan Chelsea defender Jake Clarke-Salter, who came on as a substitute in Saturday’s game and may play a part this week.

Bury go into the game having lost just once in the last seven games but still sit just three points above the drop zone in 19^th and had to settle for a point last time out, drawing 0-0 at fellow strugglers Oldham Athletic.

Bury manager Lee Clark though, respected the point and thought it was a fair result.

“If you can’t win we must respect the point,” Clark told the Bury Times. “We kept a clean sheet but it was a tough game in tough conditions.

“It was a local derby, it wasn’t the greatest of surfaces and I thought we were the better team in the first half.

“Oldham made a couple of tactical changes which put us under pressure early in the second half and then my lads finished strongly and had some decent opportunities.”

Bury may be without midfielder Jacob Mellis for Tuesday night’s match after he limped off at Boundary Park with a gashed leg. If he does not manage to make the game then Clark may opt to start Andrew Tutte who came on at half time or Kean Byran, after the midfielder was brought on as Mellis’ replacement.

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This will be the 47^th meeting between the two sides. Interestingly, Rovers and Bury both have 17 wins each against each other along with 12 draws.

The last time these two sides met at Gigg Lane ended 2-1 to Bury in April 2014.

The reverse fixture between these two sides earlier in the season ended in a 4-2 Rovers win with goals from four different scorers, Rory Gaffney, Matty Taylor, Ollie Clarke and Peter Hartley were all on the scoresheet that night.

Bristol Rovers v Southend United Match Preview

 

By Simon Gray

Bristol Rovers will be hoping to show people that their play off dream may be on it’s way to becoming a reality as they entertain another member of the chasing pack in the form of seventh place Southend United at the Memorial Stadium.

Rovers are in ninth position and are just three points off of Saturday’s opponents as well as being seven points off of the top six and on-loan Stoke City defender Ryan Sweeney insists that the Gas have what it takes to make the play offs.

“The six draws on the spin was quite frustrating, but considering the standard of the opposition we faced we looked on them as points gained,” Sweeney told the Bristol Post.

“We are still well in the mix, but we know we need to win some games on the bounce if we are to apply some real pressure to the teams in the top six. We have a good home record and are in good form so we are well-placed.

If we can win a few on the bounce in this league there is no reason why we can’t push on up the table. We have to be wary of Southend as they drew 1-1 against Port Vale and will be looking for a response.”

Rovers go into the game having been boosted by three key players extending their contracts past the summer. Chris Lines, Ollie Clarke and Stuart Sinclair all put pen to paper on new deals and have put some fans’ minds at ease.

Rovers however will be without one of the trio for the next two matches as Ollie Clarke picked up his 10^th booking away at Oxford last time out.

This means manager Darrell Clarke will either have to change up the formation or bring Lee Mansell back into the side, Mansell replaced Ollie Clarke from the bench last weekend so looks to be the suitable replacement.

Southend go into the game on a somewhat inconsistent run. The Blues have won two, drawn two, and lost two of their last six games and manager Phil Brown has said that it is a very important week for them.

After their trip to Bristol, Southend face struggling Coventry before another tough match against eighth placed Walsall next weekend.

“It’s the most important week of the season,” he told the club’s website.

“If we’re going to do anything this season we need to get a massive points return.

“A lot of people are saying what the points total will be and how many games we need to win from the last 11, but there’s nothing better than winning your next game. That’s what we’ll be trying to do against Bristol Rovers.”

Brown will hope to have both Stephen McLaughlin and Nile Ranger available for selection but both face late fitness tests. Both were unavailable in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Port Vale.

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Rovers have not beaten Southend in their last six matches, drawing four of them.

The last time these two sides met at the Memorial Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw in March 2014.

The reverse fixture between these two sides earlier in the season ended in a 1-1 draw, Rovers led thanks to a Peter Hartley header but Simon Cox rescued a point from the penalty spot at Roots Hall.

 

 

 

Oxford United v Bristol Rovers Match Preview

By Simon Gray

Bristol Rovers travel to Oxford United this weekend hoping to extend their unbeaten run.

Rovers head to the Kassam Stadium having not lost in their last seven games, although they have drawn their last six games.

Rovers sit in 11^th place in the League One table, one point and two places below Saturday’s opponents and manager Darrell Clarke has not ruled out a play off charge.

“I’ve always got an eye on a next season, but my main focus is in the here and now and I want us to try and put a winning run together,” Clarke told the Bristol Post.

“I have always looked at it on a game-to-game basis and the only thing I want to do now is to finish the season on a positive note. We are on 48 points, which is a decent return after 35 games, and we’ll keep going without ruling anything out. We just want to finish as high as we can.

“The first objective for me before a ball was kicked in August was for us to improve as the season went on. I think we have done that and we will keep striving for further improvement over the final 11 games.”

Clarke will be sweating on the fitness of striker Ellis Harrison after the striker limped off during Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Bolton Wanderers.

Clarke will also be wondering whether to keep Cristian Montano in the side, the winger started the match at the Macron Stadium but was replaced by the goalscorer in the game, Byron Moore.

Oxford go in to the match losing just once in their last six games and are now into the EFL Trophy final for the second year in a row, this time against bottom of the division, Coventry City but goalkeeper Simon Eastwood is concentrating on a possible play off place.

“To get a chance at Wembley is something no-one would turn their nose up at,” he told the Oxford Mail.

“No disrespect to the competition, but I want to play there in the play-off final, which would be massive for the club.

“There’s that many games coming up, the manager has said we’ve got to forget about that.

“We’ve got 14 games left in the league and until the final is the next game, we’ll look to the league games instead.”

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The match earlier in the season finished 2-1 to Rovers with Matty Taylor scoring the winner at the Memorial Stadium.

The match at the Kassam Stadium last year also ended in a 2-1 Rovers win with Ellis Harrison scoring the winner from the penalty spot in the 88^th minute.

In the last six encounters between the two sides, Rovers have won four times, with Oxford winning once and there being one draw.