‘My God’ - Blackpool boss’ honest assessment of key figure in Stevenage draw

The two teams couldn’t be separated at Bloomfield Road, with chances scarce throughout the windy December afternoon.

In the final minutes of the game, the visitors felt they should’ve been awarded a spot kick following a challenge from Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Odel Offiah in the box.

After the match, Boro head coach Alex Revell stated it was a “stonewall” penalty, which his side deserved following their efforts on the Fylde Coast.

Meanwhile, Seasiders boss Bruce also believes a couple of key moments went against the home side in the stalemate.

“We’ve all had bad games but the referee’s performance left a lot,” he said.

“I know it’s a difficult job but my God, he made some poor decisions. He stopped us twice by bringing the game back. I’m not going to criticise officials, but he had a poor afternoon.

“He got big decisions wrong, he pulled us back when arguably we were about to have our best passage of play.

“Everyone's entitled to a poor game, and we might’ve got away with one at the end as they’re complaining that it should’ve been a penalty.

“I know how difficult it is, I refereed the game in training yesterday morning between the young and the old ones. I did it for 10-12 minutes, and it’s a difficult job. I let everything, I never gave a free kick.”