Salford head coach Karl Robinson did not hide his disgust with the officials after Salford fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at MK Dons.
The Ammies’ boss felt his team would have taken something from their League Two game against MK Dons if they had been more clinical, or if referee Ross Joyce had been more even-handed.
Robinson was left seething after watching his side concede a soft penalty awarded for a soft foul on Jack Saunders in first-half stoppage time, which Nathaniel Mendez-Laing converted, and was annoyed that a challenge on Kadeem Harris in the box was not penalised.
Salford’s wastefulness in front of goal added to his frustration, returning to the club where he began his managerial career.
The Ammies began the game brightly and squandered a golden opportunity to take the lead when Kelly N’Mai struck the bar after Craig MacGillivray spilled Josh Austerfield’s shot into his path.
On the quarter-hour, Kallum Cesay went close to breaking the deadlock when he sliced wide when played through on goal by an inadvertent Harris header.
Cesay fired a speculative effort wide from the edge of the box before Daniel Udoh struck over the bar as Salford continued on the front foot.
But momentum would shift in first-half stoppage time when, under light pressure from Udoh off the ball, Sauders collapsed into a heap in the box and referee Joyce pointed to the spot.
Mendez-Laing coolly sent Salford goalkeeper Matthew Young the wrong way from twelve yards to put the home side ahead at half-time.
In a game between two of the division’s fastest starters, Robinson’s side were dominant but could not find a way past goalkeeper MacGillivray.
The Scottish shot-stopper produced a fine reflex save to deny Udoh at point-blank range after the ball had been nodded down from a corner.
MacGillivray comfortably gathered a tame shot from Harris after a Luke Garbutt long throw caused havoc in the home box, as Salford went direct in search of an equaliser.
The MK Dons’ goalkeeper was alert when Jorge Grant fired a low free-kick underneath the wall and saved a deflected Harris shot as Salford pressed for an equaliser after 79 minutes.
With time running out, pressure from Aaron Nemane saw Harris fall to the ground in the box, but referee Joyce waved away The Ammies’ claims for a penalty.
As Salford piled forward at the death, they were caught out when Callum Patterson finished off a swift MK Dons counter-attack with a chip to seal the points.
After the match, Robinson lambasted the referee’s performance but praised the effort levels shown by his “hard-working players.”
“Sometimes you are going to come up against good teams, like we have today, and the game is defined by a great goal or an opportunity you have to take. All you ask is for the referee to do his job,” he said.
“But he was not good enough today and the referee should not referee for a long time.
“I think anybody in this stadium watching this game will say we were the better team.
“Today, the referee gave a penalty, and these were his words – we pulled him outside the box and then my number 22 (Adebola Oluwo) fouled him. It wasn’t my 22, he was nowhere near – Dan Udoh was the nearest player. He’s got the wrong player.
“So how can you tell me he’s got the decision right when he doesn’t even know what player committed the foul? That just shows you how bad he was in that decision.
“Then Kadeem Harris goes and you can clearly see his right heel is clipped and he goes down. I’m not saying the contact for our penalty was really aggressive, but when you give minimal contact for a penalty against, it has to stay consistent.
“We were very strong in our shape and have been at our best out of possession in the last two games, but haven’t capitalised on moments when I need the team to.”
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