Wolves angry at rough justice from referee

Frustrated Wolves players and manager Mick McCarthy today blasted the costly decisions which went against them in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Stoke.

Wolves were angry at referee Anthony Taylor's refusal to send off the already-booked Jonathan Woodgate after he tripped Matt Jarvis for the penalty.

He then awarded a free kick which led directly to Kevin Doyle's own-goal equaliser from Robert Huth's shot when Roger Johnson appeared to win the ball cleanly.

A second successive defeat left Wolves a point and a place above the drop zone, although they are two points and two places better off than at the same stage last year. But there was simmering anger in the home dressing room.

"I've got a huge grievance about it all," fumed McCarthy.

"Stoke should have been down to 10 men. If Woodgate tripped him up outside the box, he'd have booked him again.

"The game then hinged on a deflected free kick which I didn't think was a free kick – Roger won the ball fair and square."

McCarthy asked the Manchester-based referee for an explanation afterwards but refused to reveal what was said. "I put over my opinion very calmly," he said. "It didn't make any difference but I feel better for saying it."

Man of the match Matt Jarvis, who was fouled for Woodgate's booking and for the penalty, said: "Maybe he should have been sent off. Normally that happens. Maybe if he hadn't have been booked before, he'd have been booked for that."

As for the equaliser, Jarvis added: "Roger said he won the ball cleanly and from where I was, it looked like he did."

Stoke boss Tony Pulis admitted Woodgate was fortunate not to have seen red.

"We had a bit of good fortune there," he said. "If he'd sent him off, we probably couldn't have argued about it."