Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury Town Paul Hurst left questioning controversial equaliser following draw

Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst bemoaned the decision to award Doncaster Rovers a controversial equaliser as Town sacrificed a two-goal lead.

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Issam Ben Khemis' cross was judged by the officials to have been carried over his own goal line by goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

The boss was also sure that Henderson was nudged over the line.

Mat Sadler and Carlton Morris had given Town a 2-0 lead but the in-form Rovers pegged Town back.

Hurst referenced photo and video footage that shows the cross had not crossed the line.

“Hand on heart there’s not one definitive piece of footage that says that it’s definitely not over the line," said Town's boss.

“But, I’ve had various people tell me that a photographer’s got footage that shows it wasn’t over the line and from the footage I’ve seen it doesn’t look like it is until one of the Doncaster Rovers players makes contact with Dean and gives him a little shove.

“It’s not until that point that the linesman seems to flag and if that’s the case then it’s a foul. If he’s given it before that then my feeling on it from what I can see is that it’s not a goal, so that’s hard to take.

“The first goal we have to look at ourselves. We don’t make a good first header, then Dean slips, which isn’t his fault but it means that we don’t get to the ball first and they get a soft goal, which gives them that bit of belief and hope that they can salvage something from the game."

Town fell out of the top two for the first time since September 2 after being pegged back by Darren Ferguson's side.

Hurst felt it was two points dropped at Montgomery Waters Meadow.

"We overall played with lots of energy, it would've been nice to not concede that first goal then we go on and win the game and are delighted," Hurst added. "But we all leave a bit frustrated and disappointed."

“I thought there was a lot of good individual performances.

“I thought Luke Hendrie was excellent on the ball for us, showed a lot of composure, confidence and there were quite a few others that I thought had good afternoons.

"We all get dictated by a result as to how we feel instantly. I'm no different. I try to be a little more diplomatic but it does feel like two points dropped from the position we found ourselves in.

"If I was a Premier League manager or someone of a certain ilk I wouldn't be talking about our performance but about one decision.

"I'm trying to look at it as a whole. There's no doubt the deciding factor is very controversial."

On losing second, the boss said: "If we want to have a sulk tonight then have a sulk and get up tomorrow, it's a new day, ready to start on Monday and try and win the game of football on Tuesday.

"We've equaled the best finish in this division in recent years which is a positive for the football club overall.

"But the down side is the slide's begun and we're out of the top two, it's all doom and gloom from there."