Thursday 16 April 2015 08:32, UK
Steve Evans claimed Rotherham were denied the chance to ease their relegation worries by a refereeing "howler" as they drew 1-1 with fellow strugglers Fulham.
The Millers were a goal up courtesy of Matt Derbyshire's fourth-minute strike, and should have been further ahead but for some wasteful finishing.
However, they were pegged back midway through the second half when Ross McCormack tucked in the equaliser, although Evans was adamant the goal should not have stood.
"Their goal came from a blatant Ross McCormack handball," said the Millers boss. "If a Championship official can't see that then he shouldn't be in the Championship.
"If it's not handball then I've not got a pair of eyes. The referee is a good guy, he doesn't mean to make a howler like that, but the reality is it's a big match and he's made a howler.
"But it shouldn't have come down to that, it should have come down to us coming away with a handsome victory."
Rotherham are now five points clear of the relegation zone, but still have the spectre of a possible Football League points deduction hanging over them.
Evans insisted he did not use that threat in his pre-match team talk, adding: "Nothing has happened and until someone tells me something has happened in terms of points then you can't believe it.
"But other clubs will be using it as a motivational factor, other clubs will have people phoning around trying to make it happen."
Derbyshire had already missed two chances to score when he struck from a half-cleared Ben Pringle corner.
And with Fulham plumbing new depths of ineptitude in a wretched first half, Kirk Broadfoot, Craig Morgan and Derbyshire all had chances to add to the scoreline.
Fulham could not have been any worse in the second half, and so it proved as they hauled themselves level in the 67th minute.
Scott Parker touched on Smith's header in the area and McCormack was on hand, literally according to Evans, to slide in his 16th goal of the season.
Fulham boss Kit Symons shrugged off Rotherham's gripe about the equaliser, insisting: "They would say that!"
But Symons could not hide from another poor display from a side who are still not mathematically safe themselves and look desperate for a miserable season to come to an end.
"In the first half we were awful," he admitted. "In the second there was an improvement, and we were a bit better than awful.
"We were very nervous, it's an anxious time for the football club. But you have to deal with the situation and we didn't do that.
"There is still a bit to do, but we are limping closer. We'd liked to have sprinted over the line but it doesn't look like it's going to be like that."
