Sam Ricketts furious with amount of added time as Wolves deny Shrewsbury a shock

Posted Sunday, January 27, 2019 by PA

Shrewsbury boss Sam Ricketts criticised the officials after the Sky Bet League One club suffered FA Cup heartbreak against Wolves.

Matt Doherty struck in added time as the Premier League side came back from 2-0 down to salvage a 2-2 draw and a fourth-round replay.

Greg Docherty and Luke Waterfall put the hosts in control only for Raul Jimenez to give Wolves a lifeline.

But Ricketts was unhappy six minutes of stoppage time was added after ball boys were moved from a corner where rival fans had begun to throw missiles at each other following Waterfall’s goal.

He said: “Six minutes of injury time – I am not sure where that came from.

“I am getting told the ball boys disappeared. They didn’t disappear, they were still on the side of the pitch.

“Admittedly they weren’t in the corner where all the police were between the fans.

“But I wouldn’t leave an eight-year-old in the corner with 100 police and fans fighting amongst themselves.

“That disappoints me more than anything. Six minutes was an awful long time and unfortunately we couldn’t quite hang on in the end.

“I was surprised to see six minutes. I have been in football a long time and it never felt like a six minutes of injury time.

“I don’t think either physio went on. But I can’t be disappointed with the performance.”

Shrewsbury – 54 places below Wolves in the football pyramid – impressed and deserved their 2-0 lead.

Rangers loanee Docherty fired in a fierce angled drive two minutes into the second half and Waterfall – part of Lincoln’s squad who reached the quarter-finals in 2017 as a non-league club – headed in from a corner after 71 minutes.

But Jimenez converted Traore’s cross with 15 minutes left and Doherty nodded in the leveller three minutes into added time.

The teams must now face each other again at Molineux and Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo hailed his side’s never-say-die attitude.

He said: “As the game went on it became difficult and in the end the effort of the boys in the last minute was amazing and allowed us to go to a second game and stay in the cup.

“It is part of our character. It is part of what we are and we believe the game, until it is finished, can give you something. That was a reflection of the effort of the boys.

“In the first half we knew it was going to be tough – the pitch, a well organised team playing intensively and aggressively.

“The way we conceded, we should look at and analyse but, well done to the boys, and let’s try and finish the job at Molineux.”