'Hard one to take' - Grant McCann on what cost…

'Hard one to take' - Grant McCann on what cost Peterborough in Bolton loss & referee claim

Peterborough United boss Grant McCann felt one lapse of concentration cost his side in the loss to Bolton Wanderers and that the referee lost control of the encounter at times to the detriment of both sides.

Wanderers hosted Posh and went close to taking the lead in the first half when Gethin Jones headed against the post. Conor Bradley had earlier seen a good chance go wide.

After the break, Dion Charles curled over from outside the box, while Jack Iredale also saw an effort saved. But Wanderers went ahead thanks to Dapo Afolayan as his deflected effort bounced over the line to deliver the hosts a valuable three points.

And speaking after his side's loss, the Posh boss felt referee Carl Brook lost control of the encounter at times. But he conceded one moment where his side did not keep their concentration ended up costing them defeat at the University of Bolton Stadium.

He said: “I thought it was a nip and tuck game. I thought apart from maybe a couple of chances Bolton had where Lucas had made a good save and one has hit the post, there was not much in the game.

“It was a good battle to be fair. From us from an attacking point of view, I’m disappointed in terms of we never created any real openings and when we did, we never got into the position to take it. Defensively I was quite pleased on the whole.

“I thought we looked strong, obviously a change of shape and then one lapse and moment of concentration where we don’t pick a second ball up in the middle of the pitch results in a goal, a big deflection and that’s cost us the game.

“We shouldn’t get to that stage, we should be able to pick a second ball up and then have a long ball, no problem given the fact of who we had on the pitch at that time.

“We want to be better from an attacking point of view, don’t get me wrong. I thought there was moments when we could have been better.

“We knew the way Bolton played and we didn’t get to the other side of the pitch quick enough for me. We kept getting it stuck onto our feet or dispossessed.

“That was frustrating and disappointing for us. From a defensive point of view I thought we defended nearly everything that they sent our way and when you’re coming to a place like this, they’re always going to have opportunities against you.

“Lucas has made two class saves, one has hit the post where there’s a tremendous block on the line to clear it. Apart from that, it felt like this game was just going to fizzle. Can we get another opportunity, could Joe Ward tap the cross in from Ephron (Mason-Clark)?

“It’s a frustrating afternoon for us to come away with another defeat and it’s a hard one to take.”

“I think it was a feisty game because the referee lost it a wee bit in terms of the control to be honest with you for both teams. It was like that, there wasn’t really a dirty tackle in the game and it just got to that stage where it became that sort of game.

“But it’s another defeat for us and we have to make sure we learn from this and move on and get better from it.”

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