Conor Hourihane felt his Barnsley players did not deserve to lose at Huddersfield Town and that they were denied a ‘stonewall’ penalty for a tackle on Patrick Kelly.

The Reds led through David McGoldrick’s fine opener then conceded twice after the break.

Hourihane said: “It was a real close game so to come out the wrong side is disappointing. I thought the lads performed at a reasonably decent level but it was such fine margins.

“I felt we were the better side in the last 25 minutes and played good stuff but didn’t have anything major at the end of it.

“The goals are from two crosses from nothing. Can we deal with them better?

“Compared to the last couple of away games like Bolton and Cardiff, it’s probably the best we’ve played for a bit on the road against better teams.

“I am disappointed for the lads. I definitely didn’t feel we deserve to lose.

“We had a plan to go a little bit longer in the first 45 and not to give anything away that gets their tails up. We executed the gameplan really really well particularly in first half. We were worth being a goal up and playing really good stuff.”

He added: “We know they have a strong bench, they are going to come onto us. We will have to stand up to it. It just wasn’t to be which is really disappointing. Sometimes you are disappointed with the performance or asking if we turned up, but I think the lads gave everything and played some really good stuff, the disappointment is we didn’t get what we deserved.”

Patrick Kelly was tripped in the box in the first half but no penalty was given.

Hourihane said: “It was a stonewaller. The ref said it was an accidental collision but he’s ran across his line clearly and tipped him. It was a head scratcher.”

Hourihane was pleased with some of the football his team played. He said: “Their assistant manager came over and said: ‘I love watching your team play.’ A lot of people say that to us all the time. The one gripe is that little bit in the final third.”

Goalkeeper Owen Goodman took a knock to the neck but was able to carry on while Corey O’Keeffe limped off with a knock.

Defender Eoghan O’Connell added: “We’re really disappointed. I thought we played really well in the first half, did what we wanted to do in the game and went in leading. Their goals are from nothing. We looked really solid for large parts but we can’t give away goals like that, especially in such a good position.”