Monday 18 April 2016 08:53, UK
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic sympathised with referee Jon Moss after Leicester earned a dramatic point in a in a 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium..
Trailing 1-0 following Jamie Vardy's first-half opener, the Hammers turned the match on its head with Andy Carroll's penalty and Aaron Cresswell's stunning strike giving the visitors a 2-1 lead heading into stoppage time against the 10-man league leaders.
However, Jeffrey Schlupp was controversially adjudged to have been fouled by Carroll right at the death, allowing Leonardo Ulloa the opportunity to snatch a dramatic equaliser from the penalty spot, and the Argentine made no mistake.
While evidently frustrated to have seen the penalty given, Bilic actually offered some sympathy to the predicament Moss was put in.
"We are gutted," Bilic told Sky Sports. "We feel that in the end we did enough to win the game.
"It was hard for the referee. Every ground, not only here, are asking for handball and a foul. I feel for him a little, but it was not a penalty.
"The player [Schlupp] is touched and he goes down, it is not a penalty, but with the pressure and situation with them being top of the table and 30,000 people screaming for a penalty, it is hard for him.
"Leicester do have reason to question whether we should have been given a penalty, as they have been doing that all season, they play that kind of football. Most of the time they get away with that."
Despite the late setback, the result does see the Hammers keep pace in the race for the top four, and the nature of the performance in coming back from a goal down did please Bilic.
"We showed character and quality, even in the first half," Bilic added. "They scored a goal on the counter attack, but we didn't lose shape and composure, and we were rewarded with the penalty.
"We coped well in the second half with their counter attacks and we came back. After the equaliser we didn't stop. We were searching for a winner with full-backs up.
"Cresswell scored the goal from the position of a left winger. It is a big frustration for us. We deserved to win the game."
