Marriott unsure when McGeehan's '˜goal' should have stood

The midfielder turned the ball over the line from Marriott’s fierce cross on 76 minutes, which would have made it 4-2 and given the Hatters a slither of hope of making an unlikely comeback.

However, McGeehan was adjudged to have used his hand, as the goal was chalked off, with Town’s top scorer picking up a booking, his second for such an indiscretion in recent weeks.

On the decision, Marriott said: “It’s a six to one, half a dozen to the other.

“Some people would say it’s a handball, some people would say he’s leant into it, some people would say it’s a shoulder.

“Personally I couldn’t say, it was a difficult one. They’re going to say it’s a handball, we’re going to say it’s a shoulder, and there was no intention.

“You never know, if the goal is given, it could have been 4-4 as we were hoping for two goals in quick sucession like they did, hit them with a bit of their own medicine. But it wasnt to be, we kept plugging away, but it just wasn’t enough.”

However, even if the goal had stood, Town boss Nathan Jones didn’t think it would have made any difference on the final outcome, adding: “It’s a difficult angle to see, I’ve had a look at the video and can’t really see from the video.

“It was a brave call from the linesman at a crucial time but that’s just collateral damage really.

“If we had scored that, would we have gone on to win the game? I doubt it. Because I think if they had really needed to score again, they probably could have with the way we defended.”