CITY were fuming with referee Nick Kinseley after suffering late heartache for the second week running.

Cambridge scored twice in the final 10 minutes – with the winner coming in stoppage time.

But Stuart McCall led the protests after they felt Harry Pritchard was fouled in the build-up to the decisive goal from sub Harry Knibbs.

Angry City players surrounded Kinseley at the final whistle as their four-month wait for another away win goes on.

McCall said: “I don’t think it’s the players that we can point the figure at. I’ve just watched the incident back.

“I hate whingeing about refs but it’s the most blatant free-kick ever seen on Pritchard.

“How he doesn’t think that’s a free-kick and the linesman. They must have had their eyes closed because it’s so blatant to everybody in the ground.”

Jake Reeves had fired City into a first-half lead with his first goal for the club before Cambridge’s pressure eventually paid off when Harry Darling levelled on 84 minutes. Then Knibbs converted the disputed winner in added time.

McCall added: “We don’t want to make excuses and the conditions were the same for both sides.

“I thought we played some controlled football first half in horrible conditions. We knew there would be an onslaught coming out for the second.

“But we defended manfully. We put our heads on crosses that came in, we’ve got blocks in and shown a good togetherness and willingness.

“We gave everything which we asked for, worked hard as a unit and just couldn’t hold out at the end.

“We talk about fine lines for us but sometimes you need a hand from the official. If he can’t see something as clear as that, it’s blatant.

“The linesman’s on that side and the referee is 10 yards away. It’s the poorest officiating I can remember in a long while.”