ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman said his players were ‘seething with a sense of injustice’ after the 10-man Reds lost to Hartlepool.

Stanley had been the better side in the North East but saw Mark Hughes controversially dismissed on the hour as the hosts were awarded a penally, which was saved by Elliott Parish before Nicky Deverdics eventually converted the rebound.

The Reds continued to take the game to Hartlepool but were hit on the counter in the final minute when Lewis Alessandra made it 2-0.

“I feel as though someone has broken into my house to be honest, and I’m just looking through what’s gone. Our players are seething with a sense of injustice,” said Coleman.

“We had a bit of luck at home to Blackpool and that’s the only luck we’ve had all season. I’m sure Hartlepool can’t believe the luck they had to get a penalty and a sending-off.

“There was a 20-man brawl and two yellow cards, and they were both Accrington players. You never see that in football. I saw offside given from a goal kick.

“But I’m not a referees coach, I’m a football coach, and I’ll concentrate on trying to get our players right for Saturday. I know they are absolutely livid so they shouldn’t need any motivation. We’ve had points stolen off us tonight.”

On the decision to dismiss Hughes for an infringement from a cross, Coleman added: “I don’t think anybody in the ground knows [what it was for]. There was one person who knows and he was the most important one.

“I don’t understand how you can get a man sent-off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity when they’ve had a free header from six yards and the keeper saved it.

“They’ve had the opportunity and missed it, so they haven’t been denied it. The rules might have changed between quarter to eight and quarter to ten. It’s sickening to be fair. “

Stanley haven’t won in the league since Rommy Boco’s late double gave them a 2-1 victory against Blackpool in mid-October, a result which sent Coleman’s side into the play-off places.

The defeat at The Victoria Ground was the Reds’ third in a row and they have now slipped to 18th, and although they remain just six points short of the play-off places, they are also only three points ahead of bottom side Newport County, but Coleman is confident his side are on the right track after Tuesday night’s performance.

“What I’ve got to look at it is not what the referee did but how we played, we were the better team, even the most staunch Hartlepool fan will admit that, but when things are doing bad for you they’re going bad for you, and that just sums our luck up at the moment,” he said.

“You can go one of two ways, you can moan about it or just get on with it, and we’ll have to get on with it.

“The disappointing thing is we haven’t scored for six hours now despite making glorious opportunities. But we are making the chances. When the home fans are groaning when six minutes are added and they’re playing again 10 men it’s testament to how we’ve played.”