Hartlepool United assistant manager frustrated by late penalty decision in damaging Halifax Town defeat
Hartlepool United assistant manager Gary Liddle felt his side should have had a penalty late on in Saturday's damaging 1-0 defeat at home to Halifax Town, one of their direct rivals for a National League play-off place.
Pools were pushing for a late equaliser when Shaun Hobson mistimed a challenge on Matty Daly on the edge of the box, leading the vociferous appeals from the home side for referee Richie Watkins to point to the spot.
Just when Pools looked set to be handed a lifeline, however, the man in the middle deemed that the foul had taken place outside the penalty area, and instead awarded the home side a free-kick.
While Watkins appeared to be in a good position and suitably close to the incident, replays suggested the contact was made inside the box and that Pools should have been awarded a spot-kick; in the end, it was one of those days for Nicky Featherstone's side.
Although Pools might justifiably have felt aggrieved by the decision not to award them what would have been a crucial penalty, the home side could have few complaints at going down to defeat following another lacklustre performance at Victoria Park.
Having made such an impressive start to a run of three home games in succession by beating big-spending Carlisle United 3-1, Pools followed up Tuesday night's bitterly disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened Sutton United with a below par display against a spirited and well-organised Shaymen.
What it all means is that a succession of home matches that promised so much has yielded just three points from a possible nine; indeed, home form has been a glaring issue all season, with Featherstone's side winning seven, drawing six and losing eight of their 21 games at Victoria Park this term.
Crucially, defeat against Halifax means Pools' slim play-off hopes have been left hanging by a thread. While Featherstone's side knew that three points against Halifax would have seen them leapfrog the Shaymen in the National League table, lifting them - at least temporarily, with Southend United taking on Carlisle in the late kick-off - into the top seven for the first time since September.
Instead, Pools now find themselves five points behind Halifax and with a mountain to climb if they're to catch Southend, who still boast three games in hand. Liddle conceded after Saturday's match that his side's chances of sneaking into the top seven now look "slim".
In the end, in-form Halifax frontman Will Harris was the difference, with his 82nd minute strike sending Adam Lakeland's well-organised Shaymen back to West Yorkshire with all three points.
The 25-year-old, who was born in South Shields and went on trial at Victoria Park in 2022, had a penalty saved by George Evans in the reverse fixture in November but has been in blistering form since then, with his long range strike on Saturday his 18th goal in his last 20 appearances and his 22nd in total this season.
While Pools allowed the prolific forward far too much time and space to unleash his strike, questions will also be asked of goalkeeper Nick Hayes, who endured another difficult afternoon and looked a bit cumbersome in getting down to try and keep out Harris' effort.
On a day when Pools dropped leading scorer Alex Reid in favour of Accrington Stanley loanee Charlie Caton, who was a peripheral figure on his first start since his arrival last month, Halifax's clinicality told as the West Yorkshire side capped a resolute away performance with the winning goal late on.
In what felt like yet another must-win game for Pools, the hosts saw plenty of the ball in the first half and came close when Tyrese Sinclair's venomous free-kick cannoned back off the crossbar but Featherstone's side failed to do enough to test experienced Halifax goalkeeper Sam Johnson, an all too familiar feeling in the North East.
The visitors grew into the game in the second half and, while the Shaymen might have been more than a little fortunate not to have conceded a penalty late on, were good value for a crucial away win following a determined display.
Liddle, who was speaking to the press after Featherstone was shown a red card following the full time whistle, admitted his side lacked quality in the final third as Pools failed to score for the second game in a row; indeed, Pools have now drawn a blank in a staggering 12 of their 36 National League matches this term.
"I didn't see what happened with Feaths, I think looking back he was probably a little bit frustrated at the second half performance more than anything," Liddle told BBC Radio Tees Sport.
"Then there's the decision at the end of the game, which we've just seen ourselves; we've been given a free-kick obviously, but we've watched it back and the foul is made just inside the box.
"It's a little bit frustrating and that's probably boiled over on Feaths' part, so I've got the pleasure of coming out here to talk about the game.
"The challenge is just inside the box, ultimately it's a penalty-kick. With the glare of the sun, it might have been a little bit hard for the referee to see but when those things don't go for you, it's really tough to take.
"Looking back at the game, I felt we did ok in the first half without really threatening too much at the top end of the pitch. We defended well, we had a few half-chances but we just needed to brush up on that final bit of end product, whether it be a cross, a shot or a final pass.
"In the second half, I felt the game opened up a little bit. We didn't want that to happen, but for one reason or another the game really opened up and it favoured them a little bit more than it favoured us.
"It was a disappointing goal for us to concede; it was a good goal on their part, but it's a really disappointing goal from our point of view, for a striker to come off, get turned and then shoot from 25 yards without a player around him is really tough to watch.
"It was a disappointing goal to concede, and it's a disappointing day all-round. To take three points from the last nine available at home is not good enough on our part and we totally understand that.
"To have the chance to creep into the play-offs with Southend kicking off later, we're frustrated not to have taken it; that's four or five times now where we've had the chance to win games and creep into the play-offs, but we haven't quite taken them for one reason or another. It's a disappointing day."