Burnley manager Owen Coyle was left bemoaning his luck after being denied a late penalty against Birmingham.
'Stonewall' penalty would have given Burnley a chance
Burnley manager Owen Coyle was left bemoaning his luck after being denied a penalty that could have won his side the game against Birmingham.
Birmingham substitute Cameron Jerome netted a 77th minute equaliser that ended up earning a draw for the Blues but Coyle was frustrated that his side were not awarded a late penalty as veteran midfielder Lee Carsley appeared to handle a cross from Wade Elliott.
"I thought it was a stonewall penalty," explained Coyle.
"But the referee said he wasn't in the best place to see it and the linesman said someone was in his line of vision.
"We were terrific from start to finish, but have been caught by a sucker punch," added the Burnley manager.
"I am disappointed with a point, but we switched off at our corner and paid the price.
"I thought some of our performances, both collectively and individually, saw us take so many positives from the game."
Lucky
Birmingham boss McLeish admitted his side had been lucky. He said: "It was a tough game, we gained a point in a difficult venue and, as you can see from the Preston result, reality bites in the Championship.
"It's a 90-minute game and we pressed them in the second half. We were much better in the second 45 minutes.
"I stayed loyal to the boys who played against Queens Park Rangers, but stringing two or three passes together in the first half proved difficult.
"We have been fantastic at bouncing back from setbacks. But I felt our play in the second half merited something although there were too many indifferent performances in the first half."
