STANLEY boss John Coleman has claimed the match should have been abandoned after one of his players was assaulted before missing from the spot in their 1-0 loss at Rotherham.

The drama all happened in the closing stages with Harry Pell having his 89th-minute penalty saved by Josh Vickers, moments after Rotherham fans had run onto the pitch with one appearing to strike Pell.

The penalty was awarded after Richard Wood had seen red for blocking Korede Adedoyin’s goalbound shot with his hand.

After a long delay in rounding up the pitch invaders, Pell’s effort was weak and easily gathered by Vickers.

“I have never seen anything like that in my life. I was expecting the game to be abandoned,” said the Stanley boss.

“It is one of those situations where Pelly is desperate to take it because he has been assaulted as well. Was it the right thing to do? It’s easy to be wise after the event. He hasn’t meant to miss the penalty.

“I feel physically sick. I am beat and I have nothing more to offer. I can’t fight back. I can’t criticise. I am proud of how the players played today.

“It was a classic away performance. In the second half we gave everything we’ve got. We tested their keeper and hit the post late on. We didn’t deserve to lose the game, but we have.

“I am sure the authorities will do what they have to do.”

Dan Barlaser struck the decisive goal in the second half, ending a run of two defeats against Stanley in both the league and cup this season.

“I am hugely embarrassed,” added Rotherham boss Paul Warne. “It’s awful because I don’t get to talk about how good we were defending the box, how good the penalty save was or the last-ditch defending was.

“I can only apologise on behalf of the club and I have apologised to all their staff. There is no way I can justify that.

“After the penalty, we were hanging on for dear life and those eight added minutes seemed to last forever. It’s a really good three points against a real difficult team to play against and beat.”