Penalty verdict changed game, says angry Dickov

AN AFTERNOON TO FORGET: Paul Dickov looks far from impressed before being banished to the stands.

A VERBAL volley in the tunnel from Athletic’s boss Paul Dickov at half-time left him watching a sad capitulation at Colchester from the stand behind the dug-outs.

Enraged by referee Steve Rushton’s decision to award a penalty in added time at the end of the first half to the home side, evening up the spot-kick score after Reuben Reid had earlier been felled, Dickov claimed that he didn’t “have a clue” as to why Rushton felt such a verdict was necessary.

The new raised vantage point did at least give food for thought, though, as the visitors failed to make it three successive wins in npower League One in grand fashion.

“I questioned him (Rushton) at half-time about the penalty decision and a couple of others,” said Dickov, who picked out Carl Winchester and substitute Matt Smith as his top performers on another away-day to forget.

“The referee was three or four yards away with a clean view and didn’t give it (Colchester’s penalty).

“And the linesman is 20 or 30 yards away and gives it. He told Zander (Diamond) initially it was for pulling his shirt and then by the time he has spoken to his linesman he told Zander it was because he had his arm round his head.

“It has to be one or the other, surely. And he has to see it as he is three yards away. It changed the whole game, it really did.

“Just before their penalty he gave handball against Reuben Reid when their centre-half handballed it. It is so obvious to see.

“It does wind me up, yeah. But I made sure I questioned him without swearing.

“And then as I am coming out for the second half he has said on the fourth official’s advice, would I mind going to sit in the stand.

“Sometimes sitting up there you learn a lot about your players. There are a lot of individuals I am not very happy with.”

Anthony Wordsworth converted the second penalty of the afternoon in first-half injury time, having opened the scoring himself after only 17 seconds.

The first spot-kick was awarded to Athletic after goalkeeper Mark Cousins was harshly adjudged to have tripped Reid, who dusted himself down to convert his fourth penalty in only six matches.

Colchester comprehensively bullied and outplayed Athletic and went further ahead through Ian Henderson seconds after the break, Matt Heath piling on the misery with a powerful header from a corner which Alex Cisak could do no more than push into the net.

Referee aside, Dickov slammed his own players for not producing the goods.

“It wasn’t the result or performance we wanted,” he added. “I asked the boys before they went out to give me attitude, desire, good team shape and to do the basics right.

“Four simple things that we didn’t do and they did. We say to start the game well and they scored in the opening few seconds.

“Throughout the football match, I say it a lot that you will come under pressure. Instead of seeing the game out we conceded in injury time in the first half.

“I then said at half-time that we were 2-1 down because of a penalty and that we were still in the game.

“Then we go out and concede straight away again. You can’t give yourself a mountain to climb like that against a good strong team at home.

“We knew what we were up against and we prepared the players during the week. They didn’t deal with it.”