Stevenage boss Alex Revell believes his side were denied a ‘stonewall’ penalty as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against high-flying Lincoln City.
In a dour game with few chances and even less excitement, the press had absolutely nothing worthwhile to write about, bar perhaps a sliced Tyreece Simpson effort in the first half.
The controversy began in the second period when Elliott List broke through Lincoln’s defence and went down under a challenge, but referee David Rock, waved away Stevenage’s appeals for a penalty, frustrating the home crowd. The official had already angered both sets of supporters with a patchy display that broke up any rhythm either side tried to build.
Just seven minutes later, Rock did spot a foul when Dan Butler brought down JJ McKiernan in the box. Lincoln’s Jack Moylan stepped up and coolly converted the penalty, sending Murphy Cooper the wrong way.
Stevenage pushed hard for an equaliser but were dealt a blow when Kane Smith had to leave the field injured after all substitutions had been made, forcing the team to finish with ten men. Lincoln also ended the match a man down, as Paudie O’Connor was sent off in stoppage time after receiving a second yellow card for a tussle with Carl Piergianni.
“The stats show it, two shots on our goal and their only one on target being a penalty,” said Revell after the game, cutely ignoring his own side’s lack of efforts on target.
“But on the flip side – and talking about big moments – we had a big moment in the first half that we have to take. And we have to be honest, if we take it then the game becomes very different.”
Revell, who took over from Steve Evans in the summer, also seems to have inherited his former boss’s disdain for officials, and he labelled the incident involving List as ‘stonewall’.
“But if you dive in and stick a leg in, you give the referee an opportunity to make a decision and that’s what’s happened,” Revell said of Butler’s challenge on McKiernan.
“You don’t need to make (the challenge), but then, without a shadow of a doubt, it’s a stonewall penalty for us.
“I’ve seen it five times now and that’s the difference in football, six minutes later we give away the penalty and they win.”
The result leaves Stevenage in 15th in the early league table, with four points from their opening four fixtures. Their opponents climbed to fourth, winning three of their four League One matches.
Writer’s View
There wasn’t a reporter in the ground who could have claimed to have enjoyed this encounter, which was a dire affair with nothing at all to cheer for the home side. That’s mainly their doing – their approach doesn’t allow opponents much time on the ball, or afford the ball much contact with the grass.
It’s effective at nullifying opponents, and Lincoln never looked like scoring until Butler’s rash challenge. That was a stonewall penalty, but the one at the other end was debatable. The only surprise is that a whistle-happy referee didn’t take the opportunity to make the game about him, which he threatened to do all afternoon.
It’s one to forget, but for Lincoln fans, the three points might come in very handy at the end of the season.
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