Gaffer reflects on West Ham draw
Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Hurst admitted he was proud of his players after they secured a third round replay after a 0-0 draw with West Ham.
Town dominated the Hammers in the first-half with Joe Hart being forced into a couple of good saves, but they couldn’t quite make a breakthrough, much to the frustration of Hurst.
“I felt like we had a couple of chances that we could have done better with, but we have to understand that we are playing against a Premiership team, albeit not at full strength, but still some very good players on show and we more than matched them, so there’s a tinge of disappointment that we didn’t get through to the fourth round today.
“I think the players are always a good gauge and they are in the dressing room and it’s quiet. They’re not high fiving each other because we’ve managed to get a draw. I am proud, so I don’t want to come across as too critical, but I felt like the game was there to be won. We did some things really well, some things we could have done better.”
Town will travel to the Olympic Stadium for a replay on the week beginning 15th January and Hurst expects a more difficult game down in London.
“That would be a massive ask now”, said Paul on the chances of winning the replay.
“I heard Joe Hart speaking and he said that they may have some players back and they may play a stronger team. Even playing that team again would be difficult because they will be on home soil and I’m sure they will feel a lot more comfortable with the surroundings, but it’s something that we can look forward to again.”
However, Paul does hope that occasions like this help his side with their League One campaign.
“It was a big occasion in terms of all the press being here and I’m hoping we will have some big games as the season unfolds”, said Hurst.
"The players have put themselves in that position and they have acquitted themselves well today. Hopefully, that will be the first of many, albeit we won’t be on TV every week.
“I think we’ve shown over a course of games now that the players are good enough to compete. People have been waiting for us to fall away, but we haven’t done as yet and I think the signs are positive for everyone concerned.”