"It's bizarre" - Millington says referee 'decided the game' after home defeat to Hartlepool

The Shaymen had three penalty appeals turned down, and conceded the winner after a contentious free-kick was given to Hartlepool.

"Unfortunately I think the game's been decided by the referee and the pitch," Millington said.

"And the result is a product of those two things being poor.

"I thought we had three strong penalty appeals so why we haven't even got one, it's bizarre.

"And also the amount of free-kicks he's given to Hartlepool in the first-half, he's been conned by experienced players who've gone down screaming and he's just blown his whistle and given them decisions, one of them being one they score off.

"Ultimately he's decided the game, and when we're one goal behind the pitch makes it incredibly hard to break down a team who are sat in.

"We can't just lump the ball in the box to two six foot five centre forwards, we have to try and play our way in, and you can't do that on that surface.

"So ultimately, all our efforts are in vain."

On his side's performance, the Town manager said: "For the end of the season and considering there are so many new players involved, I thought we played OK.

"I thought we deserved the win on the balance of play, but I think when you're playing against a big, strong, physical opposition, a referee and a surface, you're always going to find it difficult to get the result.

"The team played well, I think they gave it everything they've got.

"The downside is that you're up against a strong, experienced and talented opposition, the referee and the surface and unfortunately today, we weren't good enough to beat all three of those."

Despite Town now not winning in four games, they still have a six point cushion between them and eighth place.

"I don't want people to read this and think that I think we're the finished article, there's definitely things we can do better and we will do better," Millington said.

"But this game was decided by circumstances outside of our control.

"That's the frustration and the disappointment, because it makes it look like we're on a particularly poor run, where we've got a good, battling point at Woking and today, were it not for the referee, we'd have at least got a point and I think we'd have won the game.

"And because of the referee, we've had to try and break a team down on a surface that isn't fit for purpose."

On the substitution of Owen Bray in the first-half, Millington said: "He went off because he wasn't contributing, we weren't getting anything out of him down that side.

"We're running out of time to pick up points and I'm not going to sit and watch people underperform."

And on the absence of striker Zak Emmerson, Millington said: "He missed out because it was an opportunity to rest his knee, having had Daniel (Nkrumah) come in."