Worksop Town boss unhappy with ref after defeat

A battling start was almost undone by a controversial penalty decision, which saw Craig Gott put the hosts ahead, but Lewis Gibbens put the Tigers level with a header just a minute later.

The home side continued to push in the second period and went back ahead through Adam Wheatley before Ben Turner was shown a straight red on the hour – his second dismissal of the season.

Curtis Round then put the Seasiders into a three-one lead, but the Tigers refused to lay down as Liam Hardy narrowed the deficit before United saw out the victory to climb up to second in the table.

And manager Craig Parry was pleased with what he saw from his side but was disappointed with several choices made by the referee.

“I think there were a lot of positives; they [Worksop and Marske] were two evenly matched sides to be honest with you, and if anything, the referee has decided the game,” said Parry.

“I think both sides got their tactics spot on and tried to nullify certain areas and exploit their weaknesses and it was a good cat-and-mouse game which has been ruined by some horrendous decisions by the referee which, ultimately, cost us the game.

“The lads showed great spirit; we came here with nothing to lose – in a way that everyone has probably written us off – but the determination that the lads showed tonight has proven everyone wrong.

“The attitudes in the way they applied themselves was first class.”

The Tigers now travel to 15th-placed Lincoln United on Saturday afternoon in search of three points.

Parry believes his side must take the game seriously after putting their all into Tuesday’s fixture.

“I think the professionalism of how they approach the game is most important,” he said.

“It is going to be a different animal with Lincoln; we will have to slightly change the way that we play there than what we did tonight.

“But hopefully, it is a game where we can be on the front foot and take the game to them and get a positive result.

“It has been a tough seven days, but our aim on Saturday is to try and take six points from nine and then we feel we will have had a good return from a tricky run of fixtures.”