Oakleigh Cannons coach Arthur Papas has bemoaned the “game changing” decision of the match referee not to award a first half penalty in their 1-1 draw with Port Melbourne Sharks.
The incident occurred in the 40th minute, when new recruit Sean Rooney was brought down by Port Melbourne stopper Stepjan Gal, despite having a patiently waiting goalmouth to aim for.
“That’s a very big call. That’s game changing [to have] 10 men at that period of time. I think it’s a poor decision,” Papas said.
“[The referee] is having too much of an influence on the result – they shouldn’t have anything to do with the result at the end of the day. That’s something where we want to have a discussion with the level [of refereeing].”
As for the contest itself, he was disappointed that, for the second week running, his charges weren’t able to hold onto a lead, as Mirjan Pavlovic’s 54th minute opener – ironically from the penalty spot – was cancelled out within two minutes by an own goal.
“The game objectively was an even game. I think the critical moment was the same as last week. We go in front at a very critical moment in a game, but in a five-minute period, we can’t hold the lead.
“We need to settle within that period after scoring or conceding in a game. For the second week in a row, we haven’t had the resolve and the composure to hold onto the lead for long enough to settle again.
“To be honest, the game was anyone’s at the end. It became very open, a [there was a] lack of discipline in the structure. I think it was a poor performance [structure wise] by both teams and that’s why both teams will miss the finals this season, for different reasons.
“But it was also a good point to get further away from the bottom pack, which was the objective from the start.”