Jan Poortvliet refused to point the finger of blame at referee Trevor Kettle after his side lost 3-0 to Watford.

Kettle awarded Saints two first half penalties, the first of which came after just three minutes when Hornets keeper Richard Lee was adjudged to have brought down David McGoldrick in the penalty area.

There were plenty of appeals for Lee to be sent off but he was only cautioned and remained on the pitch to save McGoldrick’s spot kick and later Saints’ second penalty from Paul Wotton.

Poortvliet, though, laid the blame for the defeat with Saints rather than the officials.

He said: “I feel sorry for the people who were here because everything looked good after a few minutes when we got a penalty.

“Some of the people said the referee had to send the keeper off and I feel it’s a shame because we had to put the ball in the net – that’s the only thing.

“We have two penalties and we have to score, that’s the only answer, because it’s not down to the referee.”

Full story in today's Daily Echo