OXFORD United were left bitterly disappointed about a foul which was not given as they conceded in the 91st minute to lose 1-0 at struggling Accrington Stanley in Sky Bet League Two last night.

Terry Gornell’s hooked finish from close range relieved the pressure on the home side, who were on a five-game losing streak, but the U’s argued goalkeeper Ryan Clarke had been impeded.

Left back Joe Skarz was in no doubt that the goal should have been ruled out.

He said: “The last-minute goal is sickening, a point probably wouldn’t have been a bad result looking at the other scores.

“If you see it 100 times then 99 times you would give it as a foul, I don’t know how it’s not been given.

“The referee said he didn’t see it, but I don’t know how when surely his attention is on the ball.”

Michael Appleton was aggrieved about the decision, but felt his men should not have had to rely on it.

The U’s boss was critical of his misfiring attacking players on the night, with substitute James Roberts wasting the best chance when he skied a shot just after coming on.

Appleton said: “We had numerous opportunities to break the deadlock and I suppose that is what hurt us in the end.

“I don’t know if it hit a bobble or not, (Roberts) tends to be in the right place at the right time, that’s why we brought him on.

“We’ve had our fair share of chances, obviously the front players need to do better.

“I certainly made the players aware of that, I felt at times we passed responsibility instead of taking it.”

It was a bruising night for the visitors, who lost Richard Brindley to a head injury in the second half.

And while Appleton acknowledged United did not hit top gear, he thought a defeat was rough on the visitors.

“Accrington huffed and puffed and put a few balls into the box, but I didn’t think they did enough to win the game and we certainly didn’t do enough to lose it,” he said.

The defeat sees the U’s drop to 17th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone.

Elsewhere, United have made progress on a transfer target and believe they are close to striking a deal with a free agent, who is an attacking midfielder.

Jeremy Balmy, who joined on Monday, is due to make his debut for the club today, in a development match away at Birmingham City.