'We are all hurting' - Conor Hourihane furious with decision made in Barnsley FC's draw with Mansfield Town
Barnsley head coach Conor Hourihane was furious after his side were denied a penalty in their 2-2 draw with Mansfield Town.
Goals from David McGoldrick and Scott Banks had put the Reds two up at the One Call Stadium before Mansfield replied with a Lucas Akins penalty.
Barnsley thought they were going to get a penalty of their own in the dying embers, when Deji Oshilaja was accused of handling a Reyes Cleary shot.
The referee ignored protests and Mansfield went on to net a 94th-minute leveller through Stephen McLaughlin.
Conor Hourihane reacts
“Reyes Cleary had a shot and the lad had his hands over his head,” said Hourihane. “How that was not given I will never know.
“It was handball and the referee has clearly got that one wrong. It’s really disappointing and frustrating.
“I thought our lads were outstanding on a horrible pitch today. We had to dig in and were well worthy of the win, so we are all hurting.
“Maybe we could have made the most of the transitions in the second half to kill the game off – and it was there to be killed off with the penalty decision. But the referee has somehow not seen it.
“It was disappointing to give a penalty away at 2-0 up and it changed the flow of the game. It gave them a leg up, though our lads handled it well.
“Their late equaliser would not have come along if we’d been given the penalty just before.”
Nigel Clough’s analysis
Mansfield boss Nigel Clough, meanwhile, felt the hectic schedule caught up with his side.
“The exertions of the last week or two really caught up with us today as we’ve had lots of big games,” he said. “We looked lethargic and were running out of steam.
“Some of the lads are on their knees with playing so many weeks of Saturday/Tuesday games.
“Then their second goal took quite a bit of a deflection and deceived Liam [Roberts] as he was so close to it. It just caught the bottom of Deji’s boot and went through him.
“But the way we responded was magnificent. It was all us pressing. The sooner you get back to 2-1 when you have gone 2-0 down, the more chance you’ve got – and we got the penalty, which was definitely a penalty.
“We then dominated and needed a break and had to wait until the 94th minute for it.
“The last three games this week have been brilliant for the supporters. We have won one, drawn one and lost one – the loss being against Arsenal [in the FA Cup]. But they have been three cracking games.
“We would have taken this after the pride but ultimate disappointment of losing to Arsenal, to bounce back with four points and two good performances.”