A loss, draw and victory later...

Okay, so it's been a little while since I've been able to blog on here - certainly longer than I would have hoped. We've played 3 times since that disappointing day in Crawley though and are now 4 points better off in the league. We did, however, lose to Wycombe in the JPT last midweek, but that may prove a positive as the team will have more recovery time after a Saturday match in the future. We were cheated out of all 3 points at Bradford on Saturday but managed to pull off a victory over high-flying Shrewsbury Town this evening at The Mem to put us level on points with Swindon and Oxford just outside the play-offs.

It was always going to be tough travelling to Bradford, especially as they were playing their first home game since appointing new manager Phil Parkinson, however we went there with a game-plan and it was working perfectly until the officials made an absolutely disgraceful decision in stoppage time. 'Apparently', Jamie Devitt was 'fouled' in the penalty area, even though it was clear his drop to the floor was a mix between slipping and diving, and the linesman had no hesitation in waving his flag gleefully to award the home side a SECOND penalty of the day. Matt Harrold and Eliot Richards twice put us ahead at Valley Parade, or the Coral Windows Stadium as it is now called, to set us up for our first away victory since defeating AFC Wimbledon on the opening day. The former scored a superb looping header from a fine long ball in to the box by Matt Gill, whilst the latter had a birthday to remember as he netted a sensational 25-yard strike that flew in to the top corner after hitting the post - 2 great goals that deserved to see us take the 3 points back to Bristol but, not for the first time this season, shocking refereeing decisions have cost us.

Never mind though, we had the chance to get our season back on track by defeating the high-flying Shrews this evening, buoyed by the return of Adam Virgo, Cian Bolger and Joe Anyinsah to Saturday's squad. It was also the first time former winger Mark Wright had returned to The Mem since departing for the Shrews 2 seasons ago and he certainly received a warm welcome from Gasheads around the ground. Joe Jacobson also returned to Rovers, although it's fair to say he didn't get the attention Mr. Wright was getting!

Rovers did win the game courtesy of Chris Zebroski's first league goal for the club and I'm chuffed to bits for him. It must have been such a relief for the lad and it clearly meant a lot, as he ran straight for the Blackthorn End to celebrate with the fans who were chanting his name. He looks so much more effective when played centrally and I genuinely believe we'll see a much more confident Chris Zebroski in future. The finish itself had real quality about it, as Danny Woodards and Matt Harrold were both involved before the ball fell for Zebs, who struck a sweet half-volley in to the back of the net from 18-yards out.

Shrewsbury, who had the tall and fast Marvin Morgan up top, with Lionel Ainsworth on the right wing, had more than a little bit of position, but rarely threatened Scott Bevan in the Rovers goal. In fact, the closest the visitor came to equalising was deep in to stoppage time at the end of the 2nd half, as Ainsworth struck a fierce drive towards the corner of Bevan's net, only for the goalkeeper to pull of yet another sensational save. Bevan, playing against one of his former sides, has really begun establishing himself as a favourite among the Rovers fans and by continuing to make saves like he has done so far, it won't be long before he reaches adoration levels similar to those set for Mikkel Andersen and Conrad Logan.

All in all it was a strong, committed performance by Rovers against one of the favourites for promotion and although we weren't playing scintillating attacking football, it was just important to get 3 points and a clean sheet tonight. Bolger, Virgo, Woodards and Lee Brown (and Michael Smith after replacing him following a head injury) played magnificently at the back against a good offensive Shrewsbury side. If they continue to play like that, we will keep plenty of clean sheets this season, that's for sure.

I must admit, I'm encouraged by what I have seen from Rovers over the past couple of games and I think that if we can maintain consistency in both the starting XI and with on the field performances, we'll have a good season.

Let's keep this going by picking up another 3 points against Aldershot on Saturday afternoon.

Up the Gas!