Plymouth manager Sheridan blasts ‘ridiculous’ decision to allow Cobblers goal

Match official David Phillips awarded a goal with 19 minutes to play at Sixfields when visiting goalkeeper Jake Cole dropped Ben Harding’s corner and gave Clive Platt a tap-in.

The Plymouth players were incensed, feeling their keeper had been fouled while claiming the cross and that they should have been awarded a free-kick.

Replays suggest it is Pilgrims winger Paris Cowan-Hall who made contact with Cole, causing him to spill the ball for what was the only goal of the game.

But Sheridan, without the benefit of such replays, was furious the goal had been allowed to stand and consign his team to a 1-0 defeat that has plunged them to the bottom of the npower League Two table.

“It was ridiculous and anyone who was at the game watching it will have said what a ridiculous decision it was to give a goal,” said Sheridan.

“I wanted to go in and see the referee after the game and ask him who scored the goal because it wasn’t a Northampton player.

“It was a clear foul on the goalkeeper and the referee is the only person in the ground who hasn’t seen it but he probably hasn’t ever played football so he doesn’t know.

“They should get ex-players in and people who know the game to referee these matches. We played some decent football and were right in the game but the goal set us back and we couldn’t get going again after that.”