Herne Bay boss Kevin Watson says he was left 'confused' by referee's decision to disallow Mason Saunders-Henry’s stoppage-time goal in 1-1 draw against Margate

A controversial refereeing decision denied Herne Bay a vital three points on Tuesday night.

Bay manager Kevin Watson was left feeling confused after Mason Saunders-Henry’s stoppage-time goal was initially awarded and then ruled out as their game with 10-man Margate ended 1-1.

Watson’s men - 20th in the Isthmian Premier - were hoping to make it two wins on the bounce after beating Brightlingsea 2-1 last Saturday thanks to an early own goal and Marcel Barrington’s penalty.

Dan Johnson hit an opening goal for Bay on Tuesday and they looked odds-on for another win after Margate’s Emmanuel Oke was shown a straight red card for a foul. But Bay were left frustrated as Nathan Wood levelled in the second half and the officials scrubbed off the late winner.

Controversy erupted at Winch’s Field when the flag went up for offside with five minutes of injury time played. Referee Daniel Blades didn’t whistle, instead playing advantage, but when the Margate goalkeeper rolled the ball outside of his area, ready to resume play, Saunders-Henry nipped in and scored.

Watson said: “The referee and linesman have given a goal and then their bench were up in arms about it, so then he reversed the decision. His explanation was that it is not in the spirit of the game, which I questioned.

“There is a spirit of the game but for an official to make a decision, based on a subjective judgement about the spirit of the game, that is something I am not sure about.

“The goalkeeper rolled the ball out, assuming it was offside, but because the referee didn’t give it, one of our players ran up, shot and scored. The referee said the keeper didn’t hear a whistle and I said because there wasn’t a whistle.

“I was left confused. I don’t think the referee had a