Tadcaster Albion manager Mick O'Connell brands costly penalty decision a 'disgrace' following Thackley AFC defeat
Mick O’Connell branded the penalty decision which condemned his Tadcaster Albion side to a painful late defeat at Thackley as a “disgrace”.
With the game level at 1-1 heading into stoppage-time, Finn Donovan went down in the Brewers box following a collision with Fatlum Ibrahimi and the referee awarded what looked a soft spot-kick.
Ben Grech-Brooksbank duly stepped up to convert from 12 yards, snatching all three points for the Dennyboys and leaving O’Connell and his troops empty-handed.
"There is no way on God’s green earth that it is a penalty,” O’Connell said.
"Fats has got the ball. He’s got to the ball first and the kid has run into him and gone over his leg. The referee could not wait to give it. The way the game panned out on the day, the referee was always going to do that and I said to the lads at half-time ‘don’t give him an opportunity’.
"He was gunning to send someone off or sin-bin someone. I just thought that he lacked control in the game.
"The linesman is five yards away and he’s got to help him [the referee] there. It’s a blatant disgrace, to be honest.”
Elliott Andrew had fired Albion into a 27th-minute lead following good work by Luca Bolino, but that goal was cancelled out shortly after half-time when Thackley’s Antony Brown tapped in from close range.
Reflecting on the contest as a whole, O’Connell added: “I don’t think either team deserved to lose the game.
"We didn’t do enough to win it, we didn’t deserve to win, a point was probably a fair reflection.
"Both teams created plenty of chances. We could probably be 3-0 up in the first 10 minutes, we hit the post twice. But you’ve got to take those chances.
"At this level of football, if you don’t take those chances, you get punished.”
Tadcaster’s defeat came four days after they ended a run of five NCEL Premier Division games without a win by beating Handsworth 3-0 thanks to Andrew’s six-minute hat-trick.
Now 14th in the table, the Brewers return to action this Friday evening when they entertain Barton Town Old Boys, 7.45pm kick-off.