Sam Ricketts: Shrewsbury should have had three penalties

Posted Sunday, August 11, 2019 by PA

Shrewsbury manager Sam Ricketts believes his side were denied three clear penalties as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to MK Dons.

The Shrews boss admitted his side were not up to scratch during their trip to Stadium MK but remained defiant in defeat as the hosts grabbed all three points in the last minute.

“I think we had a clear penalty in the first half and the referee has told me there wasn’t enough, and then I think we should have had two penalties in the second half too,” said Ricketts.

“I know we weren’t at our scintillating best but it was the sort of game where if we get the luck the game goes our way, but it was them who managed to get the luck today.

“Their goal has come from a nothing cross-shot to be honest and it’s a very soft goal in the dying seconds of the game.

“It’s a real sucker punch for the players and the supporters. I think it was a 50-50 game and think we were just a little bit unlucky, which I don’t think I’ve said before to be honest.”

Meanwhile, Paul Tisdale was over the moon after his side picked up their first win in their opening game of the season following the postponement at Bury.

The Dons left it very late to grab a winner as Rhys Healey’s last-gasp effort proved enough to take all three points, and Tisdale admitted neither team deserved the victory on the day.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have got three points in a game when neither team really looked like winning it – and I know we’ve got to be better,” Tisdale said.

“We were very structured and considered – probably too much to be honest – and it was our first game and we’ve had a long wait for it.

“I liked us generally, I liked the nerve in the team and the consideration we showed, but we needed a bit more of a spark and a bit more forward play – we managed to do that in the last few minutes, so credit to the players.

“We ended up with a very fortuitous goal, albeit from a very good pass and movement, and then Healey finished – so there was some quality in the build-up too.”