Lincoln boss Cowley praises referee over rescinding penalty in win at Carlisle

Posted Tuesday, April 03, 2018 by PA

Lincoln manager Danny Cowley was full of praise for referee Robert Lewis for being prepared to reverse a penalty decision in the 1-0 victory at Carlisle.

Matt Green scored the only goal of the game just before the interval but a moment of contention arose in the second half when Lewis pointed to the spot for an apparent handball by a Lincoln player.

However, after consulting with his linesman, Lewis changed his decision, awarding a free-kick to the Imps after what Cowley claimed was a case of mistaken identity over what had occurred.

Cowley said: “It was handball by their centre-half Mark Ellis.

“You could see from their reaction that our players were dumbfounded. It’s not easy for officials, particularly in an intimidating atmosphere, to accept you got it wrong and do the right thing.

“The ref originally thought it was hand ball by Elliott Whitehouse but luckily the linesman helped him out.”

The winner from Green came following a quickly-taken Neil Eardley free-kick as Lincoln moved up to sixth in Sky Bet League Two.

Cowley said: “We tried the move before and Carlisle were aware of it, but we got the timing just right.

“It was a tough game at a tough place and I thought we were really resolute. They enjoyed some possession, but we restricted them to few chances.

“It’s an important win and I’m proud of the effort and the way we coped physically through these two Easter games. The players fought hard to the end and got the rewards they deserved.”

Next up for Lincoln is the EFL Trophy final against Shrewsbury.

Cowley added: “We can look forward to Wembley now. People might have thought the players would have one eye on next week’s final, but we were determined to show just how focused we are.”

Carlisle slipped five points off the pace in the race to finish in the top seven and manager Keith Curle admitted they were not at their best.

He said: “We didn’t spark. The players switched off for the goal. and got distracted by other things that were going on, and when we did get our best opportunity we didn’t take it.

“It was a competitive game decided by a set-piece. I’m disappointed to concede to a set-piece after we had spoken to the players about it. Apart from that it was keenly fought between two organised teams who didn’t allow each other to get momentum.

“They had the better ball retention in the final third than we did. We started well and put a lot of balls in the box but didn’t make contact. You are not going to get golden opportunities laid on, you have to make them with instinctive play.”

On the penalty decision that went against his team, Curle added: “Referees are protected. They only give what they think is the right decision. He made his decision and gave a penalty then he changed his mind. The referee was 10 or 12 yards away and gave his decision.

“I thought the referee was slightly intimidated by the away team. He has been refereeing a long time to know the ins and outs of the game. At times he lacked a little bit of game understanding.”