Refereeing decisions once again left Keith Hill fuming after a controversial penalty was given against his side in their 2-1 defeat at home to Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
Hill was enraged when referee Richard Clark adjudged Rhys Bennett to have fouled Fleetwood’s Charlie Taylor inside the area when contact appeared to be minimal.
The penalty was converted and although Scott Hogan equalised for Dale a late Mark Roberts strike gave the visitors victory with Hill left feeling hard done by.
“I’m not sure we deserved to win it, but we certainly didn’t deserve to lose the game,” Hill told the Dale player.
“If there’s honesty from the opposing team and their representatives they’ve looked a gift horse in the mouth because they have been awarded a penalty that wasn’t a penalty.
“It’s not a season deciding result, I’m looking forward to the rest of the season, but you can’t help but end up feeling a little bit bitter and a little bit twisted because the players at the football club don’t deserve the type of result that has been inflicted upon us.”
The defeat saw Dale slip out of the League Two play-off places into eighth position, while Fleetwood leap-frogged them and moved up to third.
After a loss to one of his side’s promotion rivals, the Dale boss admitted the defeat was tough to take.
“I’m concerned about the defeat and the ramifications of losing mentally on the players,” Hill added.
Dale’s previous fixture at Spotland had seen them reduced to nine-men, where again Hill again felt his side received a raw deal from the officials.
As his side begin a crucial run of fixtures starting with Southend United away next Friday, Hill hopes match officials will be kinder to them during this pivotal period.
“We want to be given a fair opportunity to win a game,” he said.
Image courtesy of Official Rochdale via YouTube, with thanks.
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