Plymouth Argyle forward Ryan Hardie believes that he was robbed of a ‘clear’ penalty against Preston North End.
PNE put last week’s defeat to Stoke City to one side, getting back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle.
Liam Millar’s first-half strike was enough to win it, firing home after Will Keane had flicked on Liam Lindsay’s cross.
North End battled away to claim a clean sheet and all three points, but there was a rather late scare as Ryan Hardie went down inside the box…
Ryan Hardie on PNE penalty decision
With time ticking away, Argyle striker Hardie latched onto a pass and went down under a challenge from Andrew Hughes.
Hardie hit the deck and appealed for a penalty, but nothing was given.
It looked like Hughes got some contact on the ball and that may well have been a key factor in the decision not to award a spot kick.
PNE were relieved but Hardie has been left furious with the decision.
Speaking to Argyle’s official website, Hardie indicated that it was a ‘clear’ penalty and felt obvious contact inside the box.
Hardie thinks that a penalty would have given Argyle a great chance to get back into the game, seemingly unable to understand how the decision wasn’t given.
“Joey’s headed it inside and I got in between the two defenders,” said Hardie. “I touched it past one of their legs and felt contact. In my opinion, it’s as clear a penalty as you can get. I’ve not seen it back and I’ve not seen the ref’s angle. It’s frustrating one for me personally. It would’ve given us a chance to get back in the game.”
“It was tight through the game. There were limited chances for us and limited chances for them. It was obviously frustrating, as a striker getting few chances on goal. We’ve got to find better solutions to the problems that we are facing. We’ve got to find a way to get some chances and score some goals again,” he added.
The incident seemed like one which could have gone either way and PNE will certainly take that little bit of luck right now.
PNE recently received an apology from the PGMOL for not awarding a penalty North End’s way in the 0-0 draw against Hull City.
North End will surely have a few complaints from Saturday’s game too as Mickel Miller escaped a red card for an outrageous challenge on Ryan Ledson.
PNE fans certainly won’t have much sympathy in this situation and will gladly take the 1-0 win into the international break.