ALTRINCHAM boss Lee Sinnott was left to rue another controversial referring decision away from home, as his side were beaten 3-0 by Southport on Bank Holiday Monday.

Following a second win at home against promotion chasing Tranmere Rovers on Saturday, hopes were high that the Robins could follow that up with victory at the MerseyRail Community Stadium against a Southport side, rooted to the bottom of the Vanarama National League.

But despite Sandgrounders striker Mike Phenix appearing to go down outside the box, referee Martin Coy pointed to the spot amid furious protests from the Altrincham players.

Midfielder Gary Jones duly converted the spot kick, leaving Alty a goal down after only 12 minutes.

It wasn’t the first time Altrincham have found themselves on the receiving end of a key decision away from the J Davidson Stadium this season and manager Sinnott could hardly hide his frustration at full time.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow because that’s the third away game on the trot now if you look back at Dover and Guiseley where match changing calls have gone against us.”

“I’ll have to check the DVD for confirmation. But the players are absolutely adamant that the contact was outside the box and if it proves to be the case then it was another bad decision that’s not gone our way.”

Southport went on to double their lead through Liam Nolan midway through the first half before substitute Connor McCarthy sealed victory for the hosts with five minutes remaining.

More worrying for Alty was the addition of Simon Richman to a steadily mounting injury list.

The midfielder was forced off the pitch with a hamstring problem after only three minutes and Sinnott admitted losing Richman so early on in the match was a real pain.

“It’s annoying with the injury to Simon. I’ll have to ask if he was feeling any problems in the warm up because we should have known about it if he was. We’ll have to wait and see how he is but I shouldn’t have to lose a player after three minutes!”

There was better news regarding Luton Town loanee Andy Parry who could only make the bench due to a slight calf issue, after playing a starring role in Alty’s 2-1 win over Tranmere two days earlier. Sinnott expects the defender to be fit for the game against Cheltenham Town this coming Saturday.