Barker blasts referee over pivotal penalty decision (From The Argus)

Barker blasts referee over pivotal penalty decision

5:47pm Saturday 5th January 2013 in Sport By Steve Hollis

Nicky Adams celebrates putting Reds in front

Crawley boss Richie Barker pointed to a disputed penalty decision as his side went down 3-1 against Reading in the FA Cup today.

Barker accused referee Anthony Taylor of making a mistake when he adjudged Joe Walsh had brought Noel Hunt down in the box early in the second half.

Adam Le Fondre made no mistake from the spot to make it 3-1 and despite creating a number of chances to get back into the game Reading were able to see the game out.

Barker said: "From my view it looked like Joe got the ball and when I asked Joe he said he got it. From the reaction of their players you could tell it wasn't a penalty too.

"The ball moved direction.I think the referee knows he has made a mistake on that one and I will be checking on the DVD. If he has guessed then it is too big a decision to guess."

Reds took the lead after just 14 seconds through Nicky Adams and gave as good as they got against their Premier League opponents all game.

Barker added: "I am disappointed for the players as they worked so hard and put so much effort in. I thought they were fantastic and certainly from the first half performance deserved more out of the game."