Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny was left fuming with a penalty decision which cost his side dearly in their Champions League play-off first leg with Legia Warsaw.
The Lilywhites were beaten 2-0 by the Polish champions at the Aviva Stadium but it was a controversial second-half penalty which turned the game in the favour of Legia.
Defender Andy Boyle was penalised, perhaps harshly, when he dived to block a shot on goal and with his back turned, saw the ball hit him on the elbow.
German referee Deniz Aytekin paused for a second before pointing to the penalty spot, awarding a penalty which Nemanja Nikolic converted.
Dundalk had been very much in the game up until that stage, but that goal knocked the wind out of their sails.
"You can’t give big decisions with huge ramifications on a whim like that."
An injury-time goal from Aleksandar Prijovic doubled Legia's advantage and leaves Stephen Kenny’s men with a massive task in the return leg next Tuesday, but the Dundalk manager insists that the penalty should never had been awarded.
“It’s never a penalty, I’m hugely disappointed,” he told RTÉ Sport. “You can’t give big decisions with huge ramifications on a whim like that.
“It’s really poor from the referee, I’m not happy with that decision at all. I’m really annoyed at that, that cost us the game,” he insisted.
“We were in control of the game. That huge shift in the game gave them a massive surge in confidence they went on and dominated for the next 15 minutes.
“The following 15 or 20 minutes we were very strong but that was such a critical moment in the game.
“It is certainly not a deliberate handball, his hand is not in a unnatural position so tell me in the rules where it is a penalty. It isn’t, so I’m very disappointed.
“There’s no possible way we deserve to lose that game 2-0 and that penalty decided it.”
Legia coach Besnik Hasi said his side overcame some early nerves to dominate the game.
He insisted his players were worthy victors.
"I'm really pleased we didn't concede," he said. "We scored two and could've scored more."
Nemanja Nikolic gives Legia Warsaw a 1-0 lead over Dundalk from the penalty spot https://t.co/nxBIxKSziA
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) August 17, 2016
