MICHAEL Appleton was far from impressed after Barnsley’s opener in today’s 1-1 draw with Charlton was allowed to stand.
The Addicks began brightly and Corey Blackett-Taylor was unlucky to see an early attempt hit the side-netting.
But the big talking point came on 24 minutes when the ball appeared to have gone behind near the corner flag with Herbie Kane in possession and George Dobson looking on assuming the ball had gone out of play.
The officials decided otherwise as Kane then set up Adam Phillips to fire the hosts ahead, a goal which referee Simon Mather allowed.
That led to yellow cards being handed to Appleton and keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer for protesting the decision.
Charlton didn’t let the call impact too much on their display, however, and they were finally rewarded with a deserved 70th minute equaliser from Blackett-Taylor.
The effort and commitment shown was clearly a positive the Addicks boss was happy to highlight afterwards, a point he addressed before questioning Barnsley’s goal.
Appleton told Charlton TV: “I’m delighted with the way the players went about it if I’m being honest.
“From a performance point of view, there have been times this season when we put in a 30-minute performance maybe when we blew teams away, or 45, or 60.
“I thought for pretty much the majority of the game today performance wise we were excellent.
“We created numerous opportunities, had them on the backfoot for a lot of the game, controlled the game so I’ve got to be delighted from that point of view.
“You can always tell when players know they’ve played well, and they know they played well today.”
But then came the downside of the Oakwell trip, with Appleton clearly still fuming about what had transpired in the first-half.
He explained: “We’ve just been let down, there’s no other way of putting it.
“I can try and be calm – and I will be calm – but it’s inexcusable. It is inexcusable.
“I defy anybody on the planet, whether it is the refereeing board, whether it is the FA, Football League, anyone, those type of decisions….it is not like it is a challenge, or he could have done this or could have done that.
“It is very, very difficult to take because for me we should be walking away from here with a 1-0 victory at the absolute least and talking about three points, never mind playing well and getting a point.”
Asked if the referee had given an explanation as to why the goal was allowed, Appleton hinted he had tried to pass the buck to his assistant.
Charlton’s manager said: “Obviously clearly he said that the linesman on the far side, it was his decision to make and call and he didn’t give it, which is obviously difficult for the distance away he is from the ball.
“I thought the referee was in a much better position.
“The reaction from the players sometimes is a great example.
“Every single Barnsley player, certainly in the vicinity other than the lad who was furthest away because he is the one who got the goal, but everyone thought the ball went out of play. It is easy for me to turn around to players at times and say ‘see it out, see it out, do the right thing, don’t give the referee a call’.
“That’s not giving the referee a call. He (Dobson) has done everything right.
“You can say it is an honest mistake but it is not a mistake.
“I can’t have a go at Dobbo for that. It’s not even an honest mistake. It is just a horrendous refereeing call.”
