WARRINGTON Town boss Paul Carden described Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Workington as “a frantic game” as they missed the chance to notch another valuable victory.

David Symington’s equaliser earned the visitors a point that, on the balance of play, they deserved after Mekhi Leacock-McLeod had given Yellows a half-time lead.

Report: Yellows 1 Workington 1

They remain second in the Evo-Stik Premier Division, but the gap to leaders Altrincham grew from four points to six after the Robins thrashed Shaw Lane 5-1.

Carden acknowledged that only coming away with a draw was a missed opportunity for his side.

“I would say it’s two points dropped,” he told the Guardian after the game.

“It was a frantic game, but we looked like we had good control when we put some passes together.

“That’s not to say they didn’t have spells because they did. Pills (Luke Pilling) has made a brilliant double save in the first half.

“We scored a little bit fortunately, but we’ll take it as they have gone in against us this season.

“We hoped to go on from it, but it wasn’t to be as we didn’t start the second half very well.”

Just before Symington’s equaliser, Yellows were denied what appeared to be a clear corner in their favour by referee Daniel Hitchell and his assistant on the dugout side of Cantilever Park.

Carden called the decision “a shocking mistake” and was critical of Hitchell’s overall performance but refused to blame him for their failure to take all three points.

“I didn’t think the referee handled the game well at all,” he said.

“The referee and linesman have made a shocking mistake just before they scored. It’s a clear corner for us but a goal kick is given.

“The ref said there was a few minutes between that and the goal, but it doesn’t matter.

“If they give the corner, the whole course of the play changes and they don’t score from that incident.

“It’s a big mistake that wasn’t difficult to spot between the two of them. It’s easy for them both to come off and say “I’ve made a mistake” after the event.

“You watch Match of the Day and the referees in the Premier League are on £150,000 a year and they get moaned at, so what chance have we got when they get a few Jaffa cakes and a can of Coke?

“Everyone will make mistakes on the pitch, but that was an obvious one.

“He got a lot wrong tonight, in my opinion, but he wasn’t the reason we missed several chances in the second half.”

Carden says Yellows will keep an eye on the fitness of midfielder Sean Williams, who went off with a hamstring injury in the second half, while striker Jamie McDonald missed the game through illness.