Ricky Sbragia admitted that he was disappointed with the penalty decision that saw his Sunderland side pegged back by Newcastle.
The Black Cats were leading the Tyne-Wear derby before referee Howard Webb controversially pointed to the spot following a tussle between Steven Taylor and Steed Malbranque in the box.
Shola Ameobi converted the penalty to earn his side a draw, leaving the Sunderland boss to bemoan the referee's judgement.
"I don't think he's touched him really. I think Taylor's done well - he's done the five-card trick and he's got the penalty," Sbragia told Sky Sports.
"I don't think there was any contact with Malbranque. I think Malbranque stubbed the ground to be honest with you.
"The linesman's the closest to it and he's not given it but the referee's a little bit far away and he's decided to give it after maybe three or four seconds."
The final scoreline seemed a fair reflection of the even balance of the tie, although Sbragia was disappointed to have seen his side squander the lion's share of efforts on goal.
"We had many chances but we're not lethal enough or clinical enough in front of goal," he added.
"I think Newcastle put us under a lot of pressure, stopped us playing from the back and in the second half I thought they were totally in charge, but I thought in the first half we were in charge and probably needed another goal to kill the game off.
"The pressure they put on to us we actually crumbled a little bit, but after that we got back into the game and had a few chances late on."
0 comments:
Post a Comment