Ablett annoyed with officials

Last updated : 05 September 2007 By Al Campbell
The reserves were denied an opening win last night when Middlesbrough striker Tom Craddock was allowed to punch the ball into the net for the Smoggies' goal in a 1-1 draw, to the annoyance of Gary Ablett.

"I couldn't see it from the dugout but how the referee and his linesman didn't is hard to explain. It was a very poor decision," said the reserve team coach.

"Overall I thought we played well and had the majority of the play, but as far as our finishing was concerned we were very wasteful. We created some great chances but we over elaborated at times and it was the same old story going back to last season.

"We need to improve our finishing and I'm not just talking about the strikers. We have worked a lot on our finishing during pre-season and we will keep working at it because it needs to improve."