AARON Nell cut a frustrated figure after he watched Swindon Wildcats fall to a late 7-4 defeat away at Hull Pirates tonight, believing his side wrongly had a goal disallowed.

Nell, who opened the scoring at the Hull Arena, was referring to Tomasz Malasinski’s 25th-minute effort which appeared to cross the line, only for it not to be given by the officials.

Had that goal stood, the Cats would have held a 3-0 lead over their high-flying opponents in the second period of this English Premier League showdown.

“We played well tonight but at key times in the game, they scored when we know what those players are going to do,” said the Swindon player coach.

“I sound like a broken record but we were all over them; we scored a goal and it was disallowed.

“After that, we were all over them but the referee decides the game again. They came back well but we made a couple of mistakes to give up big goals.

“That goal went in, I was right there. The goal judges and referees didn’t see it. It is very frustrating and it is tough to take.

“We scored on a few powerplays tonight but we scored a goal. It is week after week, I’m sure I sound like a broken record.”

A frustrated Nell also believes it could have been a different result had Malasinki’s effort been allowed to stand.

He said: “The first 30 minutes, we were by far the better team. The first period was the best period we have had all year.

“We played really well but that goal doesn’t count and they got a couple of goals but the third and the fifth goals were killers.

“The last two goals don’t really count. It wasn’t a 7-4 game, it was a 5-4 game. We played well but it was a tough call by the ref.”

Despite the defeat, Nell was happy with how his team performed, especially in the opening period where they took a slender 1-0 lead.

“We take an awful lot of positives from it. We played well tonight and the first period was our best period of the year,” said Nell.

“Adam Finlinson played well, he struggled on Saturday night but he got a big goal tonight and played really well. And Floyd Taylor probably played the best game he’s played in years.

“It was a good hockey game against a team who are very confident at home and they got the bounces.

“We are a much better hockey team today than we were five weeks ago. We were probably lucky to be in a 4-2 game last time we played here and we should have won tonight.

“Hull scored some goals at key times tonight, which killed us, but that is why they’re doing well. You have to give them credit.”