Hurst still dreaming of automatic
SHREWSBURY boss Paul Hurst isn’t giving up on an automatic promotion spot despite Thursday’s hard-fought draw at Bradford.
The Shrews were chasing three points at Valley Parade in order to close the gap to toptwo Wigan and Blackburn, but had to settle for a point.
Chances were limited in the first half but the game opened up on the hour mark as Shrewsbury’s Omar Beckles picked up a second yellow card for a challenge on Nat Knight-Percival.
Bantams striker Charlie Wyke missed a chance to win it late on, which did no favours to Bradford’s play-off hopes but means Hurst is still hoping.
“The spirit was there for everyone to see, added to the fans, who had a nice banner over there (in the crowd) and the way they backed the players,” said Hurst.
“We've still got a lot to look forward to and we can be proud of the team and club.
“We've just got to try and win our games if we can. We tried to but it didn’t pan out that way. The sending off made it more difficult but we'll keep persisting, if we feel there's a chance there we'll go for it.”
Shrewsbury’s Dean Henderson made two excellent saves early on to prevent his side going behind, reacting to stop a close-range shot from Alex Gilliead and then turning away Stephen Warnock’s effort.
The visitors’ best chance of the first half fell to Jon Nolan after Shaun Whalley’s longrange pass but Colin Doyle produced a fine save with his legs.
Wyke’s big chance came on 74 minutes but he headed narrowly over from Tony McMahon’s cross, with Bantams boss Simon Grayson piling on the pressure ahead of Tuesday’s fixture against Portsmouth.
“The experienced players showed what they are capable of doing and the lads who came in the team certainly affected it,” commented Grayson.
“We can be pleased with what we’ve done and we can’t slip below the bar.
“The focus is on Tuesday now and we certainly can’t let our standards drop.”