JETS coach Rob Stanton has fired a broadside at the match officials after rookie playmaker Clayton Taylor was controversially injured during Friday night's 4-0 loss to Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium.
Stanton was critical of the performance of referee Adam Bavcar, saying a heavy challenge on 19-year-old Taylor should have resulted in Sydney's Jake Girdwood-Reich being sent off.
At the time of the incident, Sydney led 1-0. Taylor was replaced at half-time and, in his absence, Newcastle conceded three second-half goals, slumping to a second consecutive defeat.
"I would even go as far as saying, in my opinion, the ref was pretty poor tonight, with some of his decisions," Stanton said at the post-match media conference.
"I think there was a red card, and I think he got it wrong.
"That's only my opinion. I think he got it wrong tonight, and that could have altered the game ... it is what it is, but I'm just disappointed. I'm not saying that's why we lost, don't get me wrong.
"But moments change games, and I think that was a game-changer for us."
Stanton said Taylor "couldn't run" after the collision and was replaced on medical advice.
"Our player had to come off at half-time," Stanton said. "He got poleaxed, twice, and nothing [from the officials].
"So I'm disappointed that he wasn't protected and I lost him at half-time, which forced me to make some changes ... I didn't want him out there in case it turned into a tear."
Stanton has complained earlier in the season about the treatment rival teams have been dishing up to another of his creative sparkplugs, Reno Picopo.
"Reno's used to it," Stanton said with a wry smile. "I'm not worried about Reno. He gets poleaxed all the time."
The loss left Newcastle 10th in the ladder, five points adrift of the top six, with 14 regular-season rounds to play.
The Jets started brightly and appeared to have taken the lead in the eighth minute, only for the VAR to deny in-form Apostolos Stamatelopoulos for offside.
Sydney made the visitors pay in the 40th minute, when Patrick Wood produced a crafty dinked finish.
A left-footed missile from English import Joe Lolley gave Sydney a 2-0 lead in the 66th minute, then Max Burgess, who created Wood's first-half goal, scored two for himself.
Stanton admitted the Jets, minus skipper Brandon O'Neill, "weren't at our best", but declared it was all part of the learning curve.
"You could see the difference between the two teams - maturity," he said.
Newcastle next face Brisbane at McDonald Jones Stadium on Tuesday.
