Paul Warne believes his Derby County players were "killed" by an errant penalty decision in their 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers at the Mem on Saturday.
Derby led for almost the entirety of the contest after David McGoldrick's early strike, but that did not tell the story of the game with Rovers dominating possession and forcing the Rams onto the back foot for long periods.
An equaliser for the Gas was proving elusive, though, with Harry Anderson hitting the post and Scott Sinclair, Lewis Gordon and Ryan Loft not making the most of good chances, but they finally broke through deep into stoppage time when Antony Evans was fouled by Harvey White in the eyes of the referee as he stretched to get on the end of Lewis Gibson's cross.
Evans picked himself up off the deck and converted the penalty in ruthless fashion to earn the Gas a point, striking a huge blow to Derby's promotion chances as they missed the chance to break into the top six.
After the game, Warne made clear his unhappiness with referee Ollie Yates' decision.
"I am beyond rage and in fairness to whoever the bloke was who abused the living daylights out of me when I went to clap them (the travelling fans), I get his frustration, I do," he told BBC Radio Derby.
"But that decision killed our team today. I shook Joey’s hand at the end. I’m not saying they don’t deserve a point for how they play, but we limited them to very little and he said to me ‘That definitely is not a pen. I thought it was a foul on your player’ and it is.
"I’ve seen it back and I can’t… Look, I’m not a bad loser. I’m not a bad loser but that is absolute stink.
"I said to the referee and he’s smiling at me, virtually, and I said ‘Wait until Joey comes over, he’ll the same’ but it doesn’t matter.
"And it does matter. I’ve just said to the lads ‘It’s like the world’s against you, just use it as fuel for Tuesday night and bounce back’.
"But that one decision has taken us out of the play-offs and, as you can see, I ain’t best pleased about it."
Derby ended the day in seventh in the table, one point outside the play-offs, with four games to play. Rovers slipped one place to 15th.
In a subsequent post-match interview, Warne told Derbyshire Live it was a "made-up penalty".
He added: "It's not going to ruin any of their weekends is it, but it will ruin mine,"
"It's hugely frustrating. You've got to be resolute. Bristol Rovers asked us loads of questions.
"It is a very well-coached team with very good players by the way. It was a typical League One game and it was very random at times.
"When you have a lead to hang on to, sometimes you just have to sit in and we did. I don't think Joe has made a load of saves. It's so frustrating to concede in the 95th minute with a made-up penalty. It kills me."
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
READ NEXT:
