Stevenage fuming with late penalty decision at Port Vale

On Tuesday, he felt Boro should have had two given for them, something PGMOL chiefs agreed with after the fact.

This time, with Stevenage leading 2-1 at Port Vale and added time almost up, a cross hit Dan Butler and the linesman on that side flagged for the spot-kick.

The Boro left-back was booked for his protestations that it had hit the top of his shoulder, a fact Evans says was borne out by the video replay.

Dan Butler was penalised late on against Port Vale. Picture: TGS PHOTO (Image: TGS Photo)

The boss said: "There’ll be a lot of mixed feelings going through my head as we drive home," he said. 

"I thought the points were ours when Craig MacGillivray makes an absolute fantastic save down low to his right. 

"I thought that was going to make the net bulge but it’s a great save. 

"And then we're over time, we're well over the added time, and as the cross comes into the box and the assistant referee gives a penalty. 

"On the video, not a chance is that a penalty. 

"The difference between that one and the one against Reading on Tuesday is considerable. 

"It's just an absolute appalling decision. 

"I apportion no blame to the match referee. I got a bit frustrated with him letting one or two things go in the first half but he had a reasonably good game. 

"But you cannot have an assistant referee get involved in a game like that and then we look at it and it's not a penalty. 

"All I said to him on the pitch at the end is I'll have a look at it and we'll talk.  

"He said ‘I'm 100 per cent sure’ but the referee told me on Tuesday night he was 100 per cent sure too. 

"The PGMOL told me it was a majorly bad decision. 

"I think we'll be getting another apology and I'm sick of them, I don't want them. 

"It's pretty galling for the players. They've watched it in the dressing room and they'll watch it on the coach as we make the journey home.  

"And it's pretty galling when we had two clear penalties against Reading on Tuesday not given. 

"I've always said you can beat the opposition but you can't beat officials if they call it badly." 

Prior to that, the boss had been very honest in his appraisal of how the game went, blasting some of his players for the first half display and lamenting two glorious opportunities not taken.

Evans said: "We were appalling in the first half and that's probably a very kind word for it. 

"I think there was a lack of respect from some of our playing staff towards the Port Vale players. 

"They certainly never got that from me because I know a lot of them personally. 

"I've seen Port Vale play many times and I said it in the build up to the game, they have outplayed us on three occasions this season and it just looked as if it was going to be a continuation of that. 

"But we changed it half-time, we changed the personnel and we changed the shape with what we could do and we got back in the game. 

"We got a couple of good goals from a footballing point of view and we missed two absolute sitters to kill the game.

"You can't get any better than being seven or eight yards out, and in the middle of the goal, but then hitting it so hard it ends up back in Stevenage rather than passing it into the corner. 

"You have to kill them off with chances. 

"We know Jaime Reid’s not been on fire in the last couple of weeks and been snatching at things but you’d put your life on him when he goes through like that. 

"And you’d put your life on Finley Burns too. He is a very composed young man and it's a fantastic piece of play.  

"Then he goes through but he is almost waiting for the goalie to move and he ends up snatching at it. 

"I told him to trust his ability and pass it into the corner. 

"The game is then finished. 

"We've done enough in the second-half to win the game. 

"Some of the play was fantastic, we cut them open which we haven't done in the previous three games. 

"We should be going away comfortable winners and if we score the third one, we probably do."