Stoke manager Mark Robins was fuming with the penalty decision that condemned his side to a last-gasp defeat against Millwall at The Den.
A match that was largely devoid of quality had a dramatic finish thanks to Mihailo Ivanovic converting from 12 yards in the fourth minute of stoppage time to get the Lions back to winning ways.
It was the young Serbian’s sixth goal in the Sky Bet Championship this season and his efforts have earned Millwall 14 points in total, with this his latest important contribution.
It also dealt a blow to the Potters’ struggle against relegation and while Robins took issue with referee Andy Davies’ choice to point to the spot, he was also disappointed his team did not make the most of a bright start.
He said: “It’s never a penalty. It’s never a penalty in a million years and I do not get it.
“He [Josh Coburn] attaches himself to our player, threads his arm through our player’s arm, grabs him, rolls, drags him down with him and then he [the referee] has got a decision to make, but the decision isn’t a decision.
“From our perspective, it was a poor game, it was low on quality, low on chances and I think the quality that was in the game, and I don’t think I’m being disingenuous by saying it, was from us.
“I think we started really well, we played some good football in the first half, but we went away from that in the second half, which cost us momentum.
“There was nothing in the game apart from just trying to see out individual battles or physical duels, and the last one ended up with an inexplicable decision given against us.”
The best chances for most of what was a drab encounter came Stoke’s way, with Bae Jun-ho striking the bar with a terrific effort just after the hour mark.
Within a minute came another big opportunity for the Potters as Lewis Baker prodded the ball away from Billy Mitchell for Wouter Burger, with Millwall goalkeeper Luke Jensen saving well with his legs.
With the match petering out, Ben Wilmot was judged to haul back Coburn in the area from Wes Harding’s long throw and Ivanovic held his nerve to win it for the Lions with almost the last kick.
Millwall boss Alex Neil said: “Whether it’s a penalty or not, we’ve all been victims of decisions across the season, but I thought it was no more than we deserved for our second-half performance.
“At this level, a lot of games are defined by key moments – whether you take that chance, whether it was a penalty, whether you can execute that pass, get that strike away.
“It was a really pleasing win [because] you’re playing against a team that’s fighting for their life at this stage of the season.
“They got a really good win during the week, they’ve got a really strong squad – half of that squad I put together, so there’s some really good players in there, but for us that was an excellent win.
“Today I put the two forwards in, forcing us a little bit to go a bit more direct in the game.
“I didn’t think it worked particularly well first half, but I thought second half I thought we were excellent at it.”
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