Dave Edwards: Everyone at Shrewsbury Town needs to come together ahead of huge clash

It was not the FA Cup third round that Shrewsbury Town fans would have wanted.

There was optimism from the fan base, despite the current predicament they're in and current performances, with the chance in the FA Cup that you can pull a performance out of the bag and have a good day.

But Town weren't at their best and Wolves probably were and it was difficult for the fans to take, especially after the effort it took everyone to get there with the train network being down and the early kick-off.

The fans that made the trip deserve credit but there was a real sense of frustration at full-time.

The early goals really hurt them. As a game plan you want to try and limit Wolves to very little in that opening 10 to 15 minutes.

You want to get through that unscathed without conceding a goal and to do that they needed to have the ball in front of them. They needed to sit deeper, keep their shape and not allow any space behind and then hope for some counter-attacking moments.

But Town were too aggressive and tried to play offside for the first goal. I don't know if that's just player error or the way we were set up, but we gave Wolves space in behind for the first two goals.

That makes it difficult as the Wolves players are full of confidence at 2-0 and the home fans are absolutely buzzing.

Credit to Town for rallying to get a foothold in the game and it was excellent work from John Marquis to win and score the penalty and for 10 to 15 minutes Town looked good.

They obviously weren't throwing bodies forward, but they were in the game and Wolves were starting to get a bit frustrated, until Town unfortunately gifted them the third goal.

It was a huge call before the game from the manager to change the goalkeeper. I was a little bit disappointed for Will Brook because he's come from non-league, he's done well and even though his form may have dropped, he could have played a game in the FA Cup at Molineux in front of nearly 25,000 people.

I feel for him that he missed out on that, but Elyh Harrison is also a terrific goalkeeper and there's not much between the two of them.

Harrison was picked for his distribution skills and unfortunately it was his loose pass that gave Jorgen Strand Larsen the third goal for Wolves.

That really killed the game. If you get to half-time at 2-1 you can make it difficult for Wolves, but at 3-1 it's much easier for the hosts and the second half was a non-event, as Wolves were rampant. 

Sam Clucas had a big chance and if that went in something might have changed, but as soon as Wolves got the fourth, the game was done.

Luca Hoole was a positive for Town in the middle of the back three and if it wasn't for his interceptions, there could have been quite a few more goals.

I was happy with Iwan Morgan's first appearance. There was a bit of pace, a bit of physicality about him and Shrewsbury need that.

Hopefully, he can hit the ground running with his first home game this weekend against Harrogate, which is going to be a huge game for the manager, the players and for the football club. 

Harrogate picked up a draw at Crewe at the weekend and are one point behind Town with a very similar record in terms of goals scored and conceded, although Town now have a game in hand.

They are a team that are really struggling and haven't won in League Two since September when they beat Gillingham. They've really fallen off the face of a cliff.

But with that, it adds some extra pressure. If Harrogate get the win, Shrewsbury will be in the bottom two come Saturday evening, so it's a must-not-lose game. 

As a home game it's important and you feel you have to win it, in a game where the players will have to be brave.

It's going to be for the ones who can stand up and be counted and have the ball in difficult circumstances. The atmosphere will be edgy, they need to start fast, get the fans behind them as quickly as possible.

Hopefully they get that early goal to settle the nerves. If they don't, then it's about remaining calm, sticking to the game plan which has been set out and don't get side tracked.

Even if you face a bit of adversity with an opposition goal, you've got to reset and go again. You've got to show the fans you care at the same time because of the magnitude of this game. It's a difficult one.

One thing the whole football club has got to do now is try and stick together. 

It feels very fragmented at the moment, the fans are feeling discontent, players aren't really connected with the fans.

More than ever you need to bring everyone together because the chairman, board, players and fans are all absolutely desperate to stay in this league.

Although the chairman is actively trying to sell the football club, the chances of it getting done before the end of the season are very, very slim. We need our football club to stay in the league and we've got to come together.

I know it's difficult but we need the fans to be completely on board as much as they can and we need the players to give the fans something to go off as well.

They need to see some energy and commitment. I have no doubt that these lads are working hard every single game and in every single training session, but the fans have got to see it on a match day.

Hopefully it all comes together on Saturday against all odds and we can put on a big performance.

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