Fulham were left fuming after being denied two penalties by a stand-in referee as they were held to a goalless draw by struggling Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow this afternoon.
Searching for eighth away win of the season, Don Mackay’s side made the running from the outside but lacked the ruthlessness required to punish a nervous home side. The first half was error-strewn and provided little that will stay in the memory, although Peter Scott stood out in the visiting midfield as both Gary Brazil and Sean Farrell went close to breaking the deadlock. Shrewsbury’s best chance saw Neil Donaldson cannon a shot against the crossbar after he was left totally unattended in the Fulham area.
Mackay implored his side to be more assertive after the interval and the Whites were braver in possession in the second half, but they will reflect on how things went wrong when referee Richard Poulain was forced to limp off having pulled hamstring and one of his linesman, Mr. Phillips, replaced him with the whistle. Dean Spink twice got away with clear fouls in the box, felling both substitute Kelly Haag and then Jeff Eckhardt, but Mr. Phillips waved away prolonged penalty appeals.
Mackay was diplomatic afterwards – refusing to join his players in castigating the stand-in official. “We have no control over referees, so I refuse to talk about them. As a manager, I am much more concerned about our play. It was so good up until we got to the box and then our final pass was very disappointing,” he said. The Whites will hope for a significant improvement when they welcome Exeter City to Craven Cottage next Saturday.
SHREWSBURY TOWN: Perks; Lynch, Worsley, Clark, Henry, Summerfield, O’Toole, Taylor, Donaldson (Hopkins 72), Lyne, Spink.
BOOKED: Spink.
FULHAM: Stannard; Eckhardt, Nebbeling, G. Thomas, Pike, Marshall, Scott, M. Kelly, Hails, Brazil, Farrell (Haag 78). Subs (not used): Morgan.
BOOKED: Eckhardt.
REFEREE: Richard Poulain (Manchester).
ATTENDANCE: 2,137.
