Ref justice apart, Watson is content

10:13am Friday 18th April 2008

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Last weekend's postponement was a huge disappointment to Eccleshill United as they were looking to get the previous defeat out of their system at the first possible opportunity.

The Eagles were on the back of a three-match unbeaten run when they travelled to high-flying Pickering Town a week last Tuesday.

They returned with nothing but pent-up anger after suffering defeat to a last-minute penalty.

"It took me days to calm down - I had a bit of a go at the referee after the game because of the mistakes he made," said United boss Mick Watson.

"Once we had got over the disappointment, I reflected on the performance and I was more than happy with it.

"We were the better side, we had Pickering on the rack and it was the best we had played all season.

"That's why it hurt that we got nothing from it and that prompted me to have my say to the ref after the game.

"There was more than a hint of offside about Pickering's first goal and the penalty that won it for them was unreal.

"Not one of their players appealed for it. I didn't even hear any of their supporters shouting for a pen.

"The ref said to me that he hadn't cost us the game and, in a way, he was right because it wasn't him who missed all our chances.

"That is why I was content once I got over the fact that we hadn't got even a point from the game.

"We had created chances, we had pushed a top side at their place and we were just unfortunate."

Watson accepts that at this time of the season his side effectively have nothing to play for, so players are being given a chance to show what they are made of with some of the under-19s and reserves doing really well.

He said: "If we can take the level of performance from our last four games into next year, I will be more than happy.

"We have been more than a match for the top clubs in our division, so we know we have the ability.

"The young lads will benefit from the experience of finishing the season with regular places in the first-team squad and that will help us find the consistency that we have lacked this term."