KILWINNING Rangers boss Chris Strain believes poor refereeing decisions cost his side as they lost 2-1 to Largs Thistle in the Premier Division.

Largs were awarded a penalty in the 14th minute, which was converted by Scott Adam, before the Buffs equalised on the stroke of half-time thanks to Carlo Monti’s great free-kick.

However, Largs would take all three points courtesy of Jack Haggerty’s sublime strike in the 82nd minute.

The Buffs had to play the majority of the match with10 men after Ally McColm was shown a second yellow just after the half-hour mark.

Prior to that, the Buffs felt aggrieved not to have been given a penalty of their own.

Strain told the Herald: “We lost the match not due to what we did but due to a few decisions that went against us that were vital in the context of the game.

“I thought none of the two bookings shown to Ally should have been given.

“We should certainly have had a penalty. The handball rules are a farce. The referees don’t even know the rules.

“The referee has come away with a load of bunkum after the game when I spoke to him.

“There was nothing derogatory said to the referee after the game, he did it to the best of his ability. But I told him that he managed the game poorly and that he will need to go away and assess his own performance.”