“How the referee didn’t see the free-kick for the goal I will never know…”
Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke felt that Bristol Rovers’ winning goal should have been disallowed for a push as the Valiants lost 1-0 on Saturday.
Clarke was critical of the match officials and said that a game “lacking in any real quality” should have ended in a goalless draw.
How the referee didn’t see the free-kick for the goal I will never know. They (the match officials) are full of excuses in there but I’m not accepting that, it is an obvious one…
The Vale boss told the media: “It was a game lacking in any real quality to be honest with you. It should probably be a draw, 0-0. How the referee didn’t see the free-kick for the goal I will never know. They (the match officials) are full of excuses in there but I’m not accepting that, it is an obvious one. So I will tell my player if he gets shoved in the middle of the back to go down.
“I am frustrated, it is a frustrating afternoon. Our performance wasn’t good enough either so let’s not hide behind that.
“Our performance wasn’t to the standards that we have been hitting recently. We had great chances in the first ten minutes to go ahead in the game but then we lost impetus, momentum and quality throughout the game. I didn’t think it was a game with any quality in it.
“You get games like that throughout the course of the season but then you take a point. We should have got a point but we have to regroup and we have to perform better than that. You have to take decisions out of referees’ hands by making sure you play well.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CLARKE’S COMMENTS? – CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT