Shropshire Star

Paul Hurst's reaction to Shrewsbury point

Head coach Paul Hurst says Shrewsbury Town's point against Oxford almost felt like a win.

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Jack Price scored his first Salop goal since joining his hometown club to rescue a late draw against Oxford in their League One clash at the Croud Meadow.

Price's goal, which was a volley from outside the box coming with just eight minutes to go, cancelled out Billy Bodin's opener after half-time.

"In the end, it is a draw, Hurst said. "But it did almost feel like a win in terms of the atmosphere around the stadium, and it could prove to be a really valuable point.

"Especially when you look at the other results. A lot of them have not gone our way. But at the same time, people would have looked at ours and thought Oxford would have taken all three points today."

The goal itself was a moment of real individual quality, and Hurst is aware of what that means to Shrewsbury-born Price.

"It is a nice moment for him," he said. "He has obviously played higher up in a different country, at different levels, but you can see what it means to him.

"He is the right type of character, the lads are really pleased for Jack and that he managed to get that goal, and ultimately it earned us a point."

In scoring from the bench Price became the first Salop substitute to net for Town so far this season - in the 40 League One games they have played.

And while Hurst says it is 'odd' he adds it is not a statistic they are proud of.

"I have been here for 12 games now, and we have managed to get one," he said.

"But even in that period of time you would probably expect a goal or two more.

"We know we have not scored loads of goals full stop.

"We have scored some late goals, it could be a coincidence as the subs may have made an impact and pushed to get back in a game or win a game.

"But it is a little odd and it is certainly not a stat that we are proud of, but we have at least got one goal. Hopefully, there can be a couple more before the end of the season."