Dyche dismayed at another game-changing decision

Sean Dyche felt Burnley were on the wrong end of another "game-changing" decision as they went down 2-1 at Spurs.
Sean DycheSean Dyche
Sean Dyche

With the sides locked at 1-1, substitute Moussa Sissoko caught Stephen Ward high and late, but only received a yellow card, and moments later played a key role in Danny Rose's winning goal.

On the back of another grievance on Wednesday night at West Ham, where he believed Tom Heaton was fouled in the build-up to the Hammers' match-winning penalty award, Dyche said: "I prefer to speak about the game, but how they didn't get a man sent off is impossible.

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"Then from the free kick, they counter and he sets up the goal. Nothing against him, it's just a decision that is quite simply a sending off.

"You can't go in blind with your hands over your face and do a high foot like that and stay on the pitch.

"I didn't see it in the moment, how he was still on the pitch, and I've looked at it afterwards and still can't see how he stays on.

"Only by the modern game, I must stress, because we're told high feet like that in that sort of challenge is a sending off.

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"I think everyone was scratching their head. I've seen it back and it's a clear sending off.

"I prefer not to talk about these things if I can help it, but we didn't get one at West Ham on our keeper because he doesn't roll around on the floor, and Wardy is straight up, he gets on with it. If he rolls around, does he get sent off?

"Maybe. It's a bit disappointing when the game isn't officiated regardless of whether you roll around on the floor, because it's a decision that's a sending off.

"I don't think anyone in the stadium would have been that surprised if he went off the pitch. There wouldn't have been uproar. It's not a close one, it's just a sending off. It was a bad challenge."

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Dyche had a word with referee Kevin Friend, who defended his decision: "I asked him and he just felt that it wasn't. I said I think you'll be surprised when you see it back. But he's a good ref and officiated the game generally well.

"It's just I've said that a lot lately and can't get the decision we want. That's our sixth game-changer this season, it's certainly not what we want.

"You can only hope it evens out. There's no angle to it, it's just by chance we can't seem to get the ones that really count, and it started in the first game of the season with Keane getting his shirt pulled.

"He stands up and gets on with the game and doesn't get the decision."

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Dyche won't encourage his players to play act to win decisions, however: "I don't really want anything other than my players to play in the right manner.

"I think I know from years of playing, gamesmanship is different, I accept that. But there's a difference between gamesmanship and simulation. I don't really want our players to roll around on the floor, if you get caught in the box and go down, that's different.

"Wardy, another day, another player would have rolled around on the floor, it goes off and our players surround the ref. We didn't do that, but you don't get the decision so it's frustrating.

"It's not for me, just play the game in the right manner. I don't think our fans want to see our players roll around on the floor either."

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Dyche would have preferred to talk about his side's performance, after arguably their best display away from home this season:"The positive aspect was a very good performance, it's not easy coming to these places, these are a fine side and can change it in many ways, their shape, change it from the bench, and I thought we handled a lot, not everything because they still had chances, but a lot of what they threw at us, and played our own game.

"I was really pleased, it was just a shame we couldn't get a result because I thought we deserved something from it.

"We're trying to mature into the season away from home, we know that, at home we've done a pretty good job."