Matt Hamshaw treads carefully in Rotherham United penalties debate
FRUSTRATED boss Matt Hamshaw held his tongue as two big penalty shouts went against Rotherham United on a night when his side could have climbed out of the League One drop zone.
A brace of stoppage-time handball appeals were unheeded by referee Scott Oldham at AESSEAL New York Stadium this evening, leaving the Millers having to settle for a 0-0 draw against Mansfield Town when a victory would have pushed them up to 20th place in the table.
Asked if his side should have been awarded at least one penalty, the manager replied: “I can't comment on that.”
A follow-up question about getting any reaction from the officials was met with: “I don't like talking about decisions like that straight after them. I've seen them back. I'll just let everybody have a look.”
When it was then mentioned that ref Oldham had been booed off the pitch by home supporters, Hamshaw responded: “Yeah, no comment again.”
Rotherham, who have faced a packed fixture schedule recently, moved up one place, to 22nd spot, two points away from safety.
They failed to match the standards they'd set in last weekend's 1-0 triumph over Plymouth Argyle against opponents who hadn't won in the league since January 17.
“I'm disappointed,” Hamshaw said. “I don't think we did enough to win the game. I thought it was a bit of a poor game. I thought we could have been better in certain areas.
“I thought we lacked a little bit of conviction and confidence, which is surprising after Saturday. I'm disappointed with the outcome.
“People will say a positive is a clean sheet, but I thought it was a disappointing night. We just looked a bit flat. We made a few changes at half-time. We gave Mansfield a leg up too many times when we had control of possession, which was frustrating.”
The boss felt his team were feeling the effects of so many matches in quick succession.
“I think it was a tired performance from some players, but we can't use excuses,” he said. “I think it's five games in 15 days. Other teams have had the same run. At this stage, we need to be better than that.”
The Millers now have 12 games left in which to escape the relegation reckoning.
Mansfield manager Nigel Clough believes his side edged the contest
“I thought we just had the better of them,” he said.. We had a few situations and all that Liam (goalkeeper Roberts) has had to do was save a few long-range shots.
“From the hour mark on, I thought we were in control and more likely to score. Over the course of the game, I thought we had the better chances, but we just could not get a break in the penalty area.
“It was two very honest teams in the bottom half of the table battling away.”