Sunday 28 September 2014 11:29, UK
West Ham midfielder Kevin Nolan is convinced referee Lee Mason took a ‘gamble’ by ruling out what appeared to be a perfectly good goal for offside.
Nolan latched on to an 89th minute cross from right-back Carl Jenkinson to poke the ball into the back of the net only to see the assistant referee’s flag up as he turned to celebrate.
And the 32-year-old was left to rue a decision which condemned West Ham to their 20th defeat in their last 22 visits to Old Trafford.
“I thought we thoroughly deserved a draw and then when it comes down to a decision from the referee that takes it away from you it’s even more disappointing,” Nolan said.
“It was either (Diafra) Sakho or (Alex) Song who played Jenks (Carl Jenkinson) in and I knew he was going to whip it so I knew I just had to try and get something on it.
“I couldn’t believe when I got up out of the net to start celebrating that the flag was up but I think even the referee was behind me and he just sort of gambled on it. Well I know he’s definitely gambled on it because if he had of seen it, he wouldn’t have given it off-side so that’s the biggest disappointment.
“I couldn’t wait to get on and was delighted that he (manager Sam Allardyce) put me on and I was even more delighted when I scored because I knew I wasn’t off-side. But that’s just how the cookie crumbles sometimes and hopefully I will get the luck later on in the season.”
Nolan insisted his team-mates can take positives from the defeat and hopes they can use their performance at Old Trafford as a springboard to push on in the Premier League this season.
“I think we’ve got to get in around that top 10 and above it really,” he added. “I think that would be a realistic aim for us this year but I think we’ll get to Christmas, see where we are, and then we can have a sit down and have a good talk about what our realistic aim will be really.”
