Ryan Lowe hit out at the decision-making that led to both Lincoln City goals after Wigan Athletic drew 2-2 at Sincil Bank.
The Latics head coach praised his side’s football but questioned the penalty award and a perceived push in the build-up to the Imps’ second.
Wigan ahead, Lincoln turn it, chaos follows
Wigan started sharply, with Paul Mullin finishing after a direct Sam Tickle clearance to put the visitors in front. The game flipped just after the half-hour as Lincoln levelled from the spot through James Collins, before the striker struck again moments later to hand the hosts a 2-1 lead.
The second half brought the inevitable twist: Callum Wright drilled home five minutes after the restart to restore parity. The closing stages were breathless and combustible, with Christian Saydee shown a straight red card for a lunge on former Wigan midfielder Tom Bayliss, and Rob Street dismissed for a second yellow. Even then there were chances, Dara Costelloe rattling the underside of the bar for the visitors before Will Aimson cleared off the line to deny Tom Hamer at the other end.
Lowe’s frustration centred on two key calls. He argued the referee was “not even looking” when awarding the penalty for holding inside the area, and felt there was a “small push” on Saydee ahead of the knockdown that preceded Lincoln’s second goal. In his words:
“We’ve just looked at the penalty back, and the ref’s not even looking, so he’s not seen it… yes, there is holding, but he has warned us before about that… I don’t know, is that a penalty, is that not a penalty?
“For the second goal… it’s a push on Christian Saydee, for him to head it down… it’s only a small push, but he’s got two hands on his back.”
Despite the controversy, Lowe felt his side “were by far the better team when it came to playing football,” and left Lincolnshire disappointed not to claim all three points.
Lincoln remain under Michael Skubala’s stewardship and showed familiar resilience to wrest momentum in a game that ebbed and flowed relentlessly. Wigan, guided by Lowe since March, demonstrated attacking threat through Mullin and Wright and will take encouragement from the response and the volume of late pressure, even if the winning moment eluded them.
Writer’s View
Strip out the noise and this was a high-level League One game between two organised teams with clear identities. Lincoln’s penalty-box nous, with Collins at the heart of it, remains a weapon, while Wigan’s slick football sure to pay dividends as the season rolls on.
The officiating debates will roll on, but the takeaway is that both sides created enough to win it. If Wigan tidy up set-piece details and Lincoln cut out lapses on second balls, these are play-off calibre outfits.
