Sutton United boss Paul Doswell slammed the referee after he awarded Bath City a penalty and sent off Michael Spillane in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at the Lane.

However, he reserved some harsh words for his own players after they let a half-time 1-0 lead slip away with a dire second half showing.

Dale Binns opened the scoring with his first goal of the season, but in a match of few chances it was the visitors that made the most of openings to take all three points.

Dave Pratt’s equaliser from the penalty spot was followed by a 25-yard screamer from Ben Adelsbury, and a last-minute tap-in for Pratt’s second.

Doswell kept his United players in the changing room for almost half an hour as the post-match autopsy took place.

He said: “The penalty and sending off was a crucial part of the game and from where I stood and from where the lino stood, it was no penalty.

“We played well for 45 minutes, had a sloppy 15 minutes after the break and then the ref’s made a decision that has gone against.

“We’ve looked at the video and it is inconclusive, but from my angle and that of the lino - he said no penalty.

“He felt Michael [Spillane] had won the ball and Michael was adamant he had won the ball.”

He added: “First half there were plenty of good things going on and I was happy enough, and when you get 1-0 up in the Conference South you are more than happy.

“But how many times did their goalkeeper get worked? Not enough.

“We had some dangerous crosses, I won’t say there were lots of goal attempts, but the goal was deserved.

“The first 15 minutes of the second half is where we did not do things right, we did not get the ball in behind them and because of it, we let Bath back into the game.

“That’s the discussion we’ve had in the changing room. In that 15 to 20 minutes we were sloppy, Charlie Clough in particular was sloppy, and that transmitted into the team and when the equaliser came they were having more of the game.”

United face a tricky FA Cup assignment this weekend when Burgess Hill Town – the unbeaten leaders of Ryman Division One South – come to the Lane in the third qualifying round.

Doswell said: “Next Saturday is going to be tough. I was very impressed with Burgess Hill when we watched them last week, and I’ve told the players that they will need to produce that first half performance next Saturday because they will be a real threat.”

Missing from Saturday was the injured Harry Osborne (knee), as well as Jo Kuffour, due to family issues.

“Jo had a real family tragedy, which puts a lot of football things into perspective, which might have had a bearing on us, the players were genuinely upset for him as I am,” Doswell said.

“Harry did his knee playing for Charlton and that’s been the story of our season, but it’s not an excuse and I am not using it as any excuse now.”