Report: Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Robins

5 August 2023

Cheltenham Town fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Shrewsbury Town in the opening game of the 2023/24 League One season.

Ryan Bowman scored the only goal of the game five minutes after the break to condemn the Robins to an opening day defeat.

In an uneventful first half, it took Wade Elliott's side 25 minutes to fashion their first sight at goal.

The captain Sean Long trying his luck from distance only to be comfortably denied by Marko Marosi in the Salop net.

Just before the board went up signalling additional time the Robins were dealt an injury blow, as Elliot Bonds was forced off, making way for debutant Curtis Thompson.

One of the last actions of the half saw the Robins go close with their best chances of the opening 45 minutes.

Liam Sercombe's long range effort was saved by Marosi, only to the feet of Rob Street. The striker looked set to score, only for a late Morgan Feeney challenge to thwart a certain opener.

The hosts very nearly went ahead minutes into the second half as Ryan Bowman went in on goal, but the Shrewsbury captain could only roll his effort wide.

They would find the opening goal just moments later however, a misplaced header from Ben Williams creating the opportunity for Bowman to tap into an empty net.

Williams came close to making amends just after the hour mark but Marosi scrambled quickly across his goal to turn the glancing header away.

The hosts very nearly found a second 10 minutes later, but Luke Southwood was equal to a thunderous strike from Daniel Udoh.

The Robins pushed for an equaliser but a deflected Street effort was the closest Town would come to finding a goal of their own.

Young Tom King came on in injury time to become the clubs youngest ever EFL appearance maker, breaking the previous record held by Kyle Haynes.

Shrewsbury - Marosi, Anderson, Feeney, Flanagan, Winchester, Shipley (Hernes 90+4'); Perry, Kenneh, Bayliss (Benning 77'); Bowman (C), Udoh

Subs not used - Burgoyne, Thorpe, Sraha, Sobowale, Watts

Robins - Southwood, Smith, Bradbury (Hammond 73'); Freestone, Long (C), Williams, Sercombe, Bonds (Thompson 45')(King 90+'); Olayinka, Street, Keena

Subs not used - Harris, Horton, Adshead, Chapman

Referee - C Pollard

Attendance - 6,599 (627 from Cheltenham)

Ticket News

Tickets & travel for Shrewsbury Town

24 July 2023

Tickets and travel for our 2023/24 League One opener against Shrewsbury Town at the Croud Meadow are now available.

The Robins head to Shropshire on Saturday 5th August (3:00PM) and you can purchase your tickets and travel for the match here or via the CTFC ticket office.

Robins supporters will be housed in the D M Recruitment Stand and the ticket prices are as follows:

Adult	£24
Senior (65+)	£17
Student	£17
Under 23	£17
Under 19	£10
Under 14	Free

Tickets for Ambulant Disabled supporters are £17, with a carer free if they would otherwise be unable to attend.

Shrewsbury Town are able to offer limited disabled car parking spaces for away supporters. To book this please e-mail tickets@ctfc.com with your name and vehicle registration, along with the Blue Badge number

Away tickets are unable to be produced digitally so physical tickets must be collected.

Any tickets not collected from the Completely-Suzuki Stadium by Friday 4^th August will be taken to the Croud Meadow for collection on the day from the D M Recruitment Stand.

Away supporters can pay on the day but please note it is CASH ONLY with a £1 increase.

Travel Club Information:

The Official CTFC Travel Club will depart the Completely-Suzuki Stadium for Shrewsbury at 11:00AM.

Non Members - £20

Members - £16

Young Robins - £8

By purchasing tickets you agree to the terms and conditions of travel, which can be found here.

If you do not collect your match tickets in advance they will be left with the on board steward for collection.

Please note that seating plans are drawn up in advance and changes on the day may not be possible. If you have specific seating requests please e-mail the Ticket Office with details.