Hartley - cruel decision

By Charlie Summerbell
November 21 2010

When a manager moans about a last-minute penalty conceded by his team, nine times out of ten his theory that the offence either didn’t happen at all or if it did happen it was outside the box is wrong, But when he has video evidence to back up his claim, even the most cynical observer has to agree.

And Mick Wadsworth does have evidence on his side when he says that Peter Hartley was outside the area when he handed in the dying minutes of what looked like being a 2-2 draw at Colchester.
In fact, the pictures suggest that not only wasn’t it borderline, but that Hartley was a good couple of yards outside the area, but referee Oliver Langton felt otherwise, pointed to the spot and gave Colchester a win they hardly deserved as Ian Henderson scored from the spot.
Results like this are the curse Pools fans, especially those who travel away, have had to put up with over the years, and this was no exception. The team had done well in an end-to-end game, and to be robbed of a result in those circumstances is unfair as well as cruel.
Wadsworth looked at the footage of the penalty incident straight after the game and he told the club website: “We haven’t deserved that. We played very well … I think we had the balance of the game throughout.
“But it’s swung on a referee’s decision again and I’m very disappointed because it was not a penalty by any stretch of the imagination.
“I’m terribly disappointed for the players and the fans, because they didn’t deserve that.”
Colchester boss John Ward came out with tue usual line adfopted by the beneficiaries of refereeing cock-ups when he told the BBC: "You take what comes your way. We can't judge whether that penalty is inside the box. The linesman and referee are in the best position to do that.
"It comes our way and we have taken it."
In other words: "Yes, it was outside the box, but we're not going to argue."
Paul Murray’s first Pools goal gave them the lead on 28 minutes as he scored with a low shot, but while they held on until well into the second half, two goals in three minutes turned the game on its head.
Colchester levelled through Andy Bond’s shot, then Kayode Odejayi tapped in after Jake Kean had saved a long-range shot.
But with just a couple of minutes left Evan Horwood appeared to have earned a deserved point when he curled in a 25-yard free-kick … until that penalty injustice.
Pools are away again on Tuesday night, travelling to Tranmere, and Wadsworth added: “Now we’ll just have to go and win there.”
That’s easier said than done, especially when decisions like Saturday’s go against you, but if they play as well there’s no reason why Pools can’t get a result.