Witham Town manager Garry Kimble felt his team were on the wrong end of some harsh refereeing decisions in the clash of the top two in Ryman League division one north.
Having missed the chance to claim top spot when getting beaten 1-0 at Needham Market on Thursday, Witham were again unable to go to the summit as they lost 3-1 at leaders VCD Athletic.
Kimble’s team stayed second with two games in hand over VCD, but the leaders stretched their advantage to five points.
Witham’s goal came from Kris Newby, but VCD’s winning margin was eased by two penalties that Kimble felt should not have been given.
He said: “There were two penalties given against us and we didn’t agree with either of them.
“The first was against Paul White, but he said he clearly got the ball and then there was one against Paul King, who also got the ball and even their supporters couldn’t believe it was given.
“At 2-1 down I thought we looked good for at least a draw, but the two penalties really hurt us.
“The referee was a late replacement and I thought he was poor.
“VCD looked fresher than us, but the referee giving them two penalties is what really hurt us.
“It was a bitter pill and I know it sounds like I’m making excuses, but those decisions killed us.
“We felt like we got robbed.”
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