Watford boss bemoans big referee decision in Sheffield United defeat after “big waste” claim

Disappointed Watford boss Slaven Bilic bemoaned a lack of cutting edge from his side as they lost 1-0 away at Sheffield United this afternoon, describing the defeat as "a big waste".

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United limited arguably the best forward line in the second tier to just eight shots on goal, and two on target, as Ryan Porteous' second-half own goal saw the Blades' seven-point lead over third-placed Middlesbrough reestablished.

Bilic believed his side should have been awarded a first-half penalty when Max Lowe shoved over Kienan Davis as he bore down on goal, and added: "It was like a typical derby game. We knew that we had to be complete here to get the result, a point or three points. 

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"The first part of the job we had to do was cope with their physicality. We knew how direct and strong they are and we coped with that well. 

"We had a lot of effort and commitment and determination and coped well. If you take the goal out. 

"The second part was to keep the ball and hurt them and for the majority we did that. We frustrated them, we were switching sides but we didn't penetrate. 

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"We didn't create enough so the quality in the final third, the determination in the final third was nowhere near. It was either a bad ball or a few extra passes that we didn't need, and absolutely no shots. So a big disappointment."

"Okay, we were playing against a good side," Bilic added. "Second in the table, blah blah blah. If they ran over us I would say: 'Okay, we didn't cope with the physicality'. 

"But the other side, we didn't do it. So a big waste. A big waste."

On the penalty shout, Bilic added: "It was definitely a push. It is clear. He goes one against one and there's a push. 

"If it comes from behind, it's a foul. It doesn't require a very strong challenge. I'm not happy with the explanation that it was an expected push. It's a foul."