HURST IN HUFF OVER PENALTY
PAUL HURST was left frustrated with the referee’s decisions as his Shrewsbury side were forced to settle for a point at Oxford.
Gino van Kessel opened the scoring for the U’s following a goalmouth scramble before the visitors hit back through substitute Stefan Payne’s finish.
Earlier, Carlton Morris’s lob bounced off the bar but the ball was adjudged not to have crossed the line, while Shaun Whalley was denied a penalty in the first half.
The draw leaves Shrewsbury in third place, but Hurst was adamant his side deserved more.
“We should have had all three points,” he said. “We should have had a penalty in the first half, there is no doubt. The ball is a million miles away from their left-back. We then have a goal that is clearly over the line and the linesman was in a good position.
“If we got ourselves in front it would have been a different game. To come here against a team that are fancied to do well and they were only on top for five or ten minutes in the game is positive for us.
“The overriding thing for me is that we came here on the last game of last season and the improvement has been dramatic since.”
After a cagey opening the game came to life on 20 minutes when Mike Williamson missed a glorious chance before Shrewsbury had a penalty appeal turned down after Whalley was caught in a tangle with Richardinho.
In the second half, substitute Jon Obika forced a smart save from Dean Henderson on 62 minutes. Two minutes later, Morris’s clever lob hit the bar before bouncing on the goalline, but the referee and his assistant did not award the goal.
The scoring was opened on 74 minutes when van Kessel latched onto a loose ball following a corner from the right.
Shrewsbury equalised through Payne’s tap-in from six yards out after good work from Lenell John Lewis.
Payne could have won the game in extra time for the Shrews but fluffed his lines at the crucial moment, and Oxford boss Pep Clotet was satisfied with a point.
“It was a hard game for both sides,” he said. “Both have had strong starts to the league. Even though we didn’t have a great game we managed to take a point. “We are all disappointed with not winning at home, but at the same time we know every point counts and matters. “The game was broken for large parts but we were a little bit open towards the end when we were trying to find a winner but I don’t think this is a problem. “It’s not for me to comment on the referee’s decisions; the referees provided by the FA are very good.”