Hurst not happy as Yates gets his orders
SHREWSBURY boss Paul Hurst believes big decisions have gone against his League One strugglers for much of the season.
And the manager was left bemoaning his luck again as referee Brett Huxtable sent off midfielder Ryan Yates for a second yellow card on 41 minutes before awarding Rovers what appeared a soft 54thminute penalty.
Yates had already been booked when sliding in late on Rovers goalkeeper Joe Lumley as he gathered the ball. There didn’t look to be much contact, but Rovers defender Lee Brown reacted angrily and Huxtable reached for his pocket again.
Any hope the ten-man Shrews had of keeping a clean sheet disappeared when Aristote Nsiala was judged to have felled Billy Bodin, with the Rovers player facing away from goal.
Bodin got up to rifle home the penalty and netted again in the closing stages to keep his side’s slim play-off hopes alive.
Hurst said: “Sometimes you only have yourselves to blame for defeats, but here I don’t think there was anything we could have done.
“It was taken out of our hands by two big decisions, both of which were wrong.
“But I shouldn’t be surprised because it has been happening all season.
“The referee felt Ryan Yates was guilty of a late challenge, yet failed to spot a Rovers defender pushing him to the ground as he got up.
“In the second half there was a similar challenge on our keeper and nothing was given.
“As for the penalty, I don’t think there was a Rovers player or anyone on their bench who thought it was a foul.”
Having dispatched the penalty with his leftfoot, Bodin produced an equally assured finish with his right on 83 minutes, having cleverly made space to the left of goal.
Manager Darrell Clarke was more than happy with a win that kept Rovers within six points of the play-off places.
Clarke said: “Billy Bodin can get himself fitter, but he is playing his best football of the season and is a match-winner on his day.
“He can score with either foot, but sometimes I take as much pleasure from seeing him look to pass the ball, rather than get in a strike at goal.
“It was a thoroughly professional performance and a clean sheet. We are still involved in the play-off race with six games left, which is fantastic.
“We lost Ollie Clarke with a knee problem and there were other knocks from a physical game.”