Coyle sympathetic after goal-line gaffe

Owen Coyle reiterated his support for goal-line technology after his Bolton side benefitted from a disallowed QPR goal in Saturday’s 2-1 victory.

Clint Hill’s header for QPR went well over the line but was not paid a goal, before Bolton grabbed a late victory in a vital relegation clash at the Reebok Stadium.

Despite Bolton benefitting from the refereeing mistake, Coyle sympathised with QPR counterpart Mark Hughes and stressed his support for the introduction of technology.

“I can understand Mark’s and QPR’s frustration with the fact that Clint Hill’s header clearly went over the line,” Coyle told Sky Sports.

“Our goalkeeper Adam Bogdan made a great save, palming it out, but there was no doubt it was clearly over the line, and we got a break there.”

“There are no bigger advocates for goal-line technology than me. Every time I’m asked, I clearly state that the sooner it’s brought in the better.”

“We all saw what happened with England in the World Cup in the Germany game (when Frank Lampard’s shot crossed the line and was not paid.”

The Scot also praised substitute Ivan Klasnic after the Croatia international scored the vital winner.

“We sent Klasnic on and he did what he does,” Coyle said. “It was sublime skill by (Ryo) Miyaichi, who is only going to get better.”

“It was a great weighted pass and with Klasnic one-on-one with the goalkeeper there was only one thing going to happen in that situation and it was a wonderful finish.”

“Ivan is our top goalscorer, but we have been conceding goals, maybe because we are too open, so I decided to sacrifice one of my strikers and play an extra midfielder and we have reaped the rewards of that.”

QPR manager Hughes meanwhile slammed the role the officials played in his side’s defeat.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Hughes said: “All you ask for is the key moments in games to be judged correctly.”

“In fairness to (referee) Martin Atkinson he is acknowledged as one of the better referees, so his performance was okay, but I just feel he was let down by his officials today.”

“They missed the key moments that you have to get. To have that clear goal was a significant moment for us because don’t underestimate the significance of scoring first.”

“As the away side and at the wrong end of the table, to score first is crucial for us. From that point, if we had scored I feel we would have taken the game away from them. Obviously they would have had to have come out and try and get back into the game.”

“Not getting a decision of that magnitude correct then impacts what we feel we can get out of the game.”

“In fairness, they even got our goal wrong because it was slightly offside, so they haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory at all to be perfectly honest.”