Gainsborough Trinity head coach left fuming at physical Worksop Town

Angry Gainsborough Trinity head coach Tom Shaw has blasted the physical tactics of Worksop Town.
Tom Shaw was angered by what he saw as Worksop's strong-arm tactics.Tom Shaw was angered by what he saw as Worksop's strong-arm tactics.
Tom Shaw was angered by what he saw as Worksop's strong-arm tactics.

The local rivals played out a feisty 0-0 draw which left Shaw fuming at the tough nature of tackles and off-the-ball incidents.

“It was probably the most extreme game of football I've seen with regards to the lack of protection for the footballer.

“How we've come out of that without someone getting hurt I don’t know. There was lots of late and off the ball stuff and it’s very disappointing.

“They have some very good players but that was a horrible game of football. The Trinity players received no protection at any points

“The fouls were extreme and the referee has had no help from the other officials. I feel for the people who have had to watch that.

“That was not a game of football today. Some people say that is what we are going into this season, but I’m confident that it will be more controlled in the league and we will not be going into that.

“There was bodies everywhere and it was a complete tear up.

“I’m delighted we have come through it unscatthed, but I’m really disappointed as I was looking forward to this game for football reasons.

“I've never seen anything like it. It could have been a good game for both teams and it turned into that.”

But Shaw felt his youngsters deserved praise for rising above it.

“Every time we tried to play, someone got whacked and there was no foul and then everyone wants a fight,” he added. “We didn't, we just stood up for ourselves.

“It is really positive that we stood up to it and came through with no injuries.

“We came through it with character and strength and we showed class and grit against that side of it. That can leave us proud.

“Moments like this are important in that we came together, but we don't want to go through that again. We kept playing and trying to do our stuff."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​