15 December 2020

Richie Wellens accuses referee of ‘shambolic’ performance in Newport draw

15 December 2020

Furious Salford boss Richie Wellens accused the referee of a “shambolic” performance as League Two leaders Newport salvaged a 1-1 draw with an injury-time penalty at The Peninsula Stadium.

With the Ammies heading for victory after Tom Clarke’s first-half header, referee Ross Joyce spotted a foul in a crowded box, allowing captain Josh Sheehan to slam in the resulting spot-kick in the fourth minute of added time.

“I am raging because it is a shocking decision,” said Wellens who tried to talk to the official amidst angry scenes on the pitch at full-time.

“I don’t know how they keep a job. The referee took a while to give the penalty because he didn’t have a clue. He hasn’t seen anything because there’s nothing there to see.

“All you get from the FA is an email on Monday saying we apologise the referee made a mistake.

“But he will be refereeing next week. The referee loses control. He let too many things go.

“When you lose control with professional players then testosterone might kick in. You try to get close and speak to them but they say don’t touch me or I’ll send you off.

“I’ve paid a few fines. I’ve had eight emails this year from the FA saying sorry. They get it wrong every week. They are shambolic.”

Newport boss Michael Flynn played down the angry scenes which saw players jostling on the pitch and continuing down the tunnel.

He said: “It was something and nothing, just frustration. Nobody threw a punch. It was just testosterone.

“I’ll take the penalty. It looked like a push but I haven’t seen it back.

“Richie will say they should have put the game to bed and that our goalie was man of the match. But we had more shots, we missed an open goal, hit the post, and dominated possession.”

Salford seemed to be heading for a win with their best performance of the season.

Clarke’s first goal for the club should have been added to when the Ammies were awarded a penalty of their own, but Ian Henderson’s effort was saved by man-of-the-match Nick Townsend in the County goal.

Both sides then struck the post before the late drama.

“It is bittersweet,” added Wellens. “I’m really pleased with our attitude and intent. We totally nullified them from playing. That is the best we have played since I have been here.

“We should be scoring at least three or four tonight. The best player on the pitch was their goalkeeper who was outstanding and Hendo has missed a penalty. I didn’t think we were in any danger.”

Flynn says his side showed character to grab a draw, saying: “We grew into the game and had more chances than them.

“We need to work their keeper more but the players have a fantastic mentality. They were immense and kept going.

“It looked like it wasn’t going to be our night but I can’t fault them. It is a good point away from home against a team who will be there or thereabouts.

“Our keeper was immense, they worked our keeper a lot more than we did. It goes to show we are trying to do things the right way.

“We had a nightmare journey on the way up with the motorway closed so we couldn’t get a pre-match meal. The lads had to go into Morrisons to get food which made us late. Nothing was going right today.”

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox