KIDDERMINSTER Harriers boss Adam Murray admitted he was ‘bewildered’ by the decision to allow 11 minutes of stoppage time at Aggborough on Saturday.
Murray was critical of the match officials after Macclesfield grabbed a last-gasp equaliser to claim a point in front of more than 3,000 fans.
Luke Spokes had put Harriers ahead after 55 minutes – but the added time and late goal left Murray more than frustrated.
The Harriers boss told the club’s official YouTube channel: “I can’t say too much, but I was belwildered by some of the things I saw.
“I wouldn’t do the job the referees are doing because I understand how tough it is – but the only thing you ask for is just consistency.
“We went into 10 minutes added time on Tuesday. And after the game, the referee said, it’s 10 minutes, and that’s it.
“If that’s a rule, that’s fair. Here, eight minutes were added on, you end up going to 11, because they’re adding minutes on.
“That’s the frustrating thing because in terms of the game, I think we had enough good chances to put it to bed.
“We kept in the game. but I just felt at times, we looked like we’d had a long week travelling. I know it sounds like excuses when you’ve not won a game, but it is the facts of the matter and some of the boys looked like they were dead on their feet at times – and that obviously helped Macclesfield.”
But Murray felt the standard of refereeing was below what he had been expecting.
He added: “I honestly was optimistic this season that we’d come into the season and the standard of officiating would’ve been better.
“But unfortunately, we’re not seen that.
“I can’t repeat what he said to some of our staff coming off the pitch.
“They choose to do the job, but don’t have an arrogance about it.
“It’s a tough one to take because we’ve just looked back at four offsides that we’ve given, and you can’t make those kind of mistakes.
“But overall, I thought it was a slow, sluggish game.”
Leamington lost 2-0 at Spennymoor Town and manager Paul Holleran told the club’s official website: “I thought we struggled with their shape in the first half, much like we did in the game at Kidderminster. It was something I was trying to educate the players about when we got them in at half time; how I felt we could exploit that shape.
“It was something I thought we executed brilliantly in the second half for long periods, and to be fair we had a few chances to get the game back at 1-1, and that would have been key. We’ve missed too many chances.
“We showed lots of character, lots of endeavour, we were a bit naive at times, but there were plusses as well.
“Luke Shaw’s first start for 16 months is a real plus, and the players coming on again.
“Our game management’s got to be a lot better. I’d have loved the game to have gone to 1-1. We deserved that. We were in the ascendancy probably from 45 to 70 minutes, but it wasn’t to be, and our wait for a point up here goes on doesn’t it?!”
