Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson was bemused after his side had an “invisible goal” disallowed in their FA Cup first-round win at Newport County.
Posh were 2-1 down when Jack Sparkes’ corner kick somehow found its way into the net at the near post via the head of Newport’s Cameron Evans.
The referee eventually awarded another corner but the incident did not prove costly for Posh who won 4-2, having been 2-0 down after only seven minutes of the game.
“It’s a goal, the footage showed that clearly. It was a bit surreal. Everyone sort of stopped as if someone had pressed the pause button. Then we started celebrating,” Ferguson told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
“I don’t think the ref knew what to do. The linesman didn’t help him and he’s made a human error. I think he said it’s gone in the side of the net, but it’s clearly a goal.
“If we’d lost 2-1 it would have been talked about a lot more but I wouldn’t have used it as an excuse – we’d have lost the game for the way we defended for the first few minutes.”
Peterborough are currently 13th in League One, but their goals against total of 26 is the highest in the division.
And they soon found themselves in arrears at Rodney Parade as Anthony Glennon and Kai Whitmore put Newport in front.
“I’d hate to be a goalkeeper in this team at the moment,” Ferguson said.
“But one thing I know we’ve got is goals and we’re just going to have to outscore teams, as simple as that. Until we find a way of getting far better concentration [at the back] in games, that’s the way it’s going to be”
Goals from Abraham Odoh, Joel Randall and two from Ricky-Jade Jones eventually earned Posh a second-round tie against another League Two side, Notts County.
But before that, they have an EFL Trophy game against Crystal Palace Under-21 on Tuesday before this season’s first county derby against Cambridge United at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday.
Odoh’s goal was his first since joining Peterborough from Harrogate Town in the summer and he said: “Obviously, we started the game off slow, but we know what we can produce up top, in attack.
“It’s always nice to contribute and I feel like I’ve helped the team get that win.”