Reaction from Elgin City's 2-1 defeat to Stranraer as manager Gavin Price and defender Ross Draper say the match officials got it wrong
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A CONTROVERSIAL 2-1 defeat at home to Stranraer on Saturday had Elgin City manager fuming at the match officials.
And City defender Ross Draper, who conceded a hotly-disputed penalty kick for the second game running, says ref Duncan Williams let himself be conned into making his decision.
Matt Yates won and scored the early Stranraer spot kick and the visitors punished City for failing to take their own chances by netting a second through sub Michael Mullen late on.
Darryl McHardy' last minute strike (see video below), set up by the returning Brian Cameron, came too late for his team to mount a comeback as they crashed to their third straight loss in League Two.
But both Price and Draper sought an audience with the ref after the match to seek an explanation for several decisions made in the game.
As well as Stranraer's penalty, Russell Dingwall and Kane Hester had spot kick claims rejected while teenager Fin Allen had the ball in the Stranraer net but was flagged offside, a call Price disputed.
"First of all, it’s not a penalty," said Price. "I’ve seen it on the video but I knew at the time that it wasn’t a penalty.
"I’ve got exactly the same view as the linesman. You can see clear as day and he’s got to overrule it (the standside assistant).
"The boy (Yates) has jumped into Ross Draper’s leg and dived over.
"The worst decision is when Fin Allen is clean through and he’s well onside.
"The ones where Kane Hester has a penalty and the same with Russell Dingwall that should have been a penalty - I need to look at these again but these things can go for or against you.
"The one with Fin Allen clean through is an absolutely shocking decision.
"I’ve got exactly the same view as the linesman and it's the same for the penalty.
"I maybe shouldn’t be berating referees because that shouldn’t be the only influence in the game and it’s not, but it's played a massive part in what the scoreline is today.
"Last week was really bad, this week was worse.
"You are just asking officials to get things right. They can only give a penalty if they are 100 per cent sure but this is not even close to a penalty kick.
Cove Rangers loan stopper Draper was in agreement with his manager.
"Referees need to understand when people are trying to con you," he said.
"I do feel sorry for the ref maybe because he has been conned but he has to see things like that, he has to see an actual foul for what it is and he has to see when someone is trailing a leg or flinging their body in an unnatural body motion.
"It is frustrating because it has happened twice in a week.
"I went in to see the ref and there was no problem but the mixed messages you get from him.
"He says I played the ball but the follow through was a penalty. But I said to him I’ve not played the ball, I’ve stopped my body and he's kind of toed the ball away and spun. So you get these mixed messages.
"I asked the linesman in the ref’s room that surely he was in a slightly better position to see it and he told me he wasn’t sure if it was a penalty or not.
"So this is the mixed comments you are getting and it makes it all the more frustrating.
"I wish I didn’t go in to speak to them if I’m being honest. I was fine, I was calm and I wanted to hear what they had to say inside rather than outside with fans.
"It’s very frustrating because it changes the tone of the game.
"But having said that we have spoken as a group about not being good enough and I don’t think we competed today.
"You have to look at it and ask if you deserved to win the game and I don’t think we did.
"Yes the penalty changes the course of the game and we had a penalty where Kane goes round the goalkeeper and clearly gets wiped out but manages to stay on his feet, but he gets punished for that.
"There’s ones where you get contact when a ball goes into a striker and he backs into a centre half, feels contact and goes down. I get that, it’s being street wise and buying free kicks and whatever. The ones I can’t deal with is no contact and literally trying to con the ref.
"But we can’t dwell on these aspects too much because it wasn’t a good performance and we have to be honest about that.
"We know it’s three points dropped and with Edinburgh winning last night, we have aspirations to go and be towards the play-offs so it is a huge setback for that.
"But we will still keep pushing and Tuesday (against Annan) gives us a chance to get three points on the board in that respect."
Yates early spot kick stunned City but they should have levelled in the first half when Draper, Tony Dingwall and Kane Hester were all denied by saves.
Russell Dingwall also hit the side net with a good chance and Hester saw a flick hooked clear in the goalmouth with the keeper beaten.
Home frustration grew in the second half as Elgin dominated possession and territory but could not find a way through.
Stranraer looked good on the break with Scott Robertson, who blazed an early chance high over, thwarted by three Tom McHale saves.
McHale then made a block on sub Michael Mullen's effort but the Stranraer man followed up to net his team's second on 75 minutes.
A delfated home side were fortunate not to concede again as Stranraer went for the kill.
But with 90 seconds left, subs Matheus Machado and Brian Cameron combined to set up McHardy for a finish high past keeper Luke Scullion to give Elgin some hope.
With Stranraer experts in the art of timewasting throughout the second period, they were able to run the clock down to its conclusion and consign City to another painful loss.
Elgin: McHale; Mailer (Sopel 86), Draper, McHardy, Towler; T Dingwall (Machado 79), MacEwan, R Dingwall, Omar (Peters 79); Hester, Allen (Cameron 72).
Subs: Cooper, Hanratty, El-Zubaidi, O’Keefe, Hoban.
Stranraer: Scullion; McIntosh, Ellis, Ross, Burns; Brady, Gallacher, Robertson (Woods 73), Hawkshaw (Watson 69); Yates (Walker 77), Duffy (Mullen 69).
Subs: Smith.
Referee: Duncan Williams
Att: 539
