Shrews captain Matt Richards blasts penalty
Shrewsbury Town captain Matt Richards today blasted the penalty award which helped ease Swindon to a 2-0 win at the County Ground.
Town centre-half Darren Jones was judged to have illegally halted ex-Hereford United striker Andy Williams' route to goal on Saturday.
And Richards pointed out: "It was very harsh, as it looked like their striker was grabbing hold of Darren.
"He's started going down outside the box, so if anything it should have been a free-kick. But it was harsh to give anything."
Chris Martin converted the 49th-minute penalty and Williams doubled Swindon's lead with a close-range header four minutes later.
Town lacked punch up front, with Tom Bradshaw making a rare start in place of Luke Rodgers.
Richards said: "We had a few first-half chances, but we didn't test the goalkeeper enough. He didn't have many shots to save.
"After defending very well in the first-half, it was disappointing to come out after the break and concede two in quick succession. We need to learn from that."
Richards himself added a footnote to Town's miserable afternoon when his late penalty was saved by goalkeeper Wes Foderingham.
"I should have struck it a little bit harder, but the goalkeeper has got across and done well. It just summed our day up.
"For that to be the only shot on target was disappointing."
The County Ground clash was one of six League One fixtures surviving the weather, after Swindon supporters helped manager Paolo Di Canio clear the overnight covers of snow.
Richards had no complaints about the game going ahead and said: "They did well to get it on and the playing surface was good. But we didn't play well. It was an all-round sloppy performance."
Now Town face a defensive headache if Jermaine Grandison is ordered under the knife after today's visit to a Harley Street specialist.
The defender was forced off after the first 45 by a niggling hip problem, which could leave him on the sidelines for a lengthy spell.
Manager Graham Turner said: "You could see once or twice Jermaine was struggling. There's a bit of bone impingement there.
"But we hope it's not the worst-case scenario where surgery is required, because that could be a long time out."