Ahead of the Checkatrade Trophy Quarter-Finals, three Shrewsbury Town players made their way to Severndale Specialist Academy as excitement builds towards a potential date at Wembley.
Captain Abu Ogogo, Junior Brown and Ben Godfrey attended the event with the Checkatrade Trophy on show to sign autographs, pose for photographs and also answer some particularly challenging questions from the children in the audience.
Severndale is one of the largest Special Schools in the country and the only specialist school in the Shropshire County, meaning pupils – starting from just two years of age – sometimes travel up to thirty miles to attend.
Ben Godfrey, the Shrews midfielder on loan from Sky Bet Championship side Norwich City, believes these community visits are an important part of any football club.
“It’s always nice to give something back." he explained. "Many of the pupils' parents will be paying to come and watch us play so it is the least we can do.
“I know what it is like as a kid to speak to footballers and take pictures, or get autographs, so to see the smile of their faces is fantastic for us.”
Paul Hurst’s Shrewsbury side are just two wins from booking their place at Wembley, with tomorrow night’s Quarter-Final tie against Oldham Athletic the first step towards walking out under the arch.
Having already beaten them twice in league action, Abu Ogogo is hoping his teammates can claim another victory, but the captain will be side-lined after picking up his second yellow card in the last round.
“We’re two wins away from Wembley, and in the league it is almost like we have nineteen cup finals – it will be an exciting end to the season.
“The Checkatrade Trophy is definitely up there in terms of priorities. I’ve been lucky enough to play at Wembley once and win, so hopefully we can get there and I can keep up that 100% record.”
Despite picking up a knee injury that will likely rule him out of contention for the competition, Junior Brown is hoping his teammates can continue their current form as they challenge for silverware on multiple fronts.
Brown said: “It is a great opportunity for us to go and win some silverware on top of doing well in the league as well.
“We need to stay focused and keep ticking off game by game, and fingers cross you will be seeing us in the final.”