Gary Naysmith: Stenhousemuir denied 'stonewall' penalty against The Spartans
The Warriors’ boss watched on in disbelief as referee Graham Grainger waved away claims that Michael Anderson had been wiped out while looking to latch on Matty Yates’ through pass in the second half, with it looked clear as day that the midfielder was impeded by not one, but two Spartans’ defenders.
"I was frustrated at the time,” Naysmith told the Falkirk Herald. “Normally I am pretty indifferent about refereeing calls and I am tend to take a step back from that sort of stuff.
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Hide Ad"But this one was so blatant that I was very surprised that it wasn’t given. I was angry at the time but you need to move on and I just shook the referee’s hand after the match like I do every game.
"It was a stonewaller. We had a couple of maybe calls beforehand but that one really was a simple decision to make.”
On the bore draw, he added: “We have bounced back well from the Clyde defeat, it is another point and a clean sheet for us.
"We did better in the second half after a poor first half and we actually didn’t defend as well as I would have liked – we were just off it in certain areas but can learn from that going forward.
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Hide Ad"We’ve now taken ten points from 12 against The Spartans and collected three clean sheets.
"That is pretty impressive because I have said a few times that they are a very good side. They are up in third for a reason.
"I think having a positive attitude about picking up a point is key, especially in this league, as long as you are winning and drawing, then picking up a point from a game is fine.
“We simply move on to the next game which will be a tough on up at Forfar Athletic.”
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Hide AdMeanwhile, Stenhousemuir chairman Iain McMenemy confirmed earlier this week that he was stepping down from the role this year as part of a wider club restructure.
Naysmith said of the news: “I was probably a wee bit shocked at the time. It did come out of the blue.
"I have a great relationship with all of the board, and I maybe haven’t had that connection at other clubs. Iain has been brilliant with me and I am bit gutted but I totally understand his reasoning.
"The relationship I have with him and the rest of the board is fantastic. They have supported me and the team in every possible way since I joined the club.”