GRAHAM Alexander criticised referee Lewis Smith’s handling of City’s late loss at Walsall.

Alexander admitted he was “gutted” for his team after Danny Johnson’s header clinched a 2-1 home win.

And the City boss was fuming with the performance of the officials – and the way he felt decisions went again his side.

“There wasn’t an inconsistency,” he said. “There was a consistency.

“We got nothing in 50/50 duels. Both teams had a big striker – one was allowed to compete, one wasn’t, so it was quite consistent throughout the game.

“I’m asking the players to compete at a better level than we did at Grimsby and we have done since then. But we weren’t even allowed to compete.

“It was ridiculous. I managed Jamille Matt at Fleetwood and he’s exactly the same type of player as Vadaine Oliver.

“There wasn’t one foul given against Jamille Matt today and yet Vadaine’s on for about 10 minutes and there must have been three or four.

“He’s getting dragged to the floor and they give free-kick after free-kick. It was a nonsense.”

City suffered a double injury blow at the back. Neill Byrne went off in the first half after Walsall’s penalty opener and Ciaran Kelly did not appear after the break.

Olly Sanderson’s third goal for the club had levelled before half-time and City, who were forced to revert to a back four, controlled much of the second period.

But sub Johnson came off the bench to claim Walsall’s late winner.

Alexander was booked along with goalkeeping coach Colin Doyle for their protests against the officiating.

He added: “I’m gutted for the players because they deserved more from today.

“We played into their hands for the first 20 minutes, so I’ll take the blame for that.

“We didn’t put enough pressure in behind their backline and then we conceded the penalty when Byrner is carrying an injury.

“He said it was cramp at first and wanted to go back on. He wanted to give it five minutes but you could see when the game restarted, he was holding it a little bit.

“I turned to the bench to take him off but unfortunately in that action we conceded the penalty.

“We tweaked a couple of bits and came back into the game and got into the final third a lot more.

“Jamie again turns the ball over with a great press and it’s a good finish from Olly.

“Unfortunately, we lost Ciaran as well with a twisted ankle in a challenge.

“We had to change the shape of the team at that point and I thought the players were excellent with it.

“They weathered a bit of a storm at the start of the half but then we took control of the game. That’s why we made a change at the end – we wanted to score the winner.

“But there were things in that game that we just can’t control.”