Steve Evans criticised a “horrendous and game-changing” decision after Stevenage slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Blackpool.
Jordan Rhodes’ seventh strike of the season helped the Seasiders close in further on the Sky Bet League One top six as Owen Dale and CJ Hamilton also grabbed goals at Bloomfield Road.
And that inflicted a third defeat in four on Evans’ newly promoted Stevenage, who are suffering a mini-blip but still sit fifth in the table.
With the score at 1-0 just before the break, Jamie Reid thought he had pulled one back for the visitors only for the assistant referee to wave a late flag several seconds after the ball hit the back of the net.
Evans accepts his side delivered a below-par performance but insists it could have been different if Reid’s goal had stood.
He said: “I won’t stand here and profess that we’ve played well today.
“But the decision just before half-time was pivotal. It was game-changing for me.
“Jamie Reid was brave going in with the goalkeeper and he scores, but it seems it was then five or six seconds before the flag went up.
“That offside was a horrendous and game-changing decision, but we’ll just get another email now.
“That was horrendous from the assistant referee. He was in a good enough position to see that Jamie was onside.
“Obviously we don’t know whether it’s offside from our seat, but (Blackpool boss) Neil Critchley said to me at the start of the second half that he thought they’d got away with that.
“We’ve absolutely no complaints over 90 minutes, but big moments in games happen all the time and we just have to accept them.”
Stevenage threatened early on when Reid’s powerful 20-yard strike was well saved by Dan Grimshaw.
The Seasiders replied with Kylian Kouassi’s looping header being punched effectively clear by Taye Ashby-Hammond.
Rhodes broke the deadlock after 37 minutes when he instinctively diverted skipper Ollie Norburn’s initial shot past a flat-footed Ashby-Hammond.
It was almost two nine minutes after the restart when Kenny Dougall thumped a 25-yard free-kick against the crossbar.
Dale did make it 2-0 bang on the hour mark when he lashed home an angled shot via a deflection off the unlucky Terence Vancooten.
Hamilton confidently slotted home Blackpool’s third late on after playing a tidy one-two with veteran Rhodes.
Critchley said: “We knew we’d have to fight very hard to get anything today – it’s never easy against a Steve Evans side.
“They’re tough and they have a method that they stick to and they’re very good at it.
“It’s a really good win for us though, and a clean sheet is very pleasing.
“We’ve had a bit of luck here and there, particularly just before half-time with their offside shout, but we’ve had decisions go against us too this season, and they do tend to even themselves out.
“This just keeps us moving forward in the right direction now.
“We need all of our players to contribute, and we saw that today.
“Sometimes you have to be patient, and expectations are different this season, but I’m delighted because I think this was a relatively comfortable win for us against a quality team.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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