Sutton United boss Paul Doswell was left fuming at the officials who he felt denied the U's a blatant penalty before allowing Woking's controversial first goal to stand in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Kingfield.

With the teams locked at 0-0 early in the second half, midfielder Regan Charles-Cook ran from behind Sutton goalkeeper Jamie Butler - a clear offside position - to nod a deflected shot into the net from close range. 

The goal stood, much to the obvious frustrations of the Sutton defenders, who immediately made their feelings known to the assistant referee.

The hosts, buoyed by decision, went on to create several opportunities before Charles-Cook added a second in the final minute to secure the points for the Cards.

It was the 20-year-old Charlton Athletic loanee's fourth goal against Sutton this year having scored two on his debut for Solihull Moors in a 3-0 victory against the U's back in February.

To make matters worse, the first goal came after the referee waved away Sutton's appeals for a penalty in the latter stages of the first half when Aswad Thomas looked to have clearly been brought down in the box.

The U's were by far the more industrious of the two sides in the first half but Kieron Cadogan, Tommy Wright and Dan Spence couldn't take their chances.

Perhaps the clearest sign that it wasn't going to be United's day came midway through the first half when Woking goalkeeper Nathan Baxter got down quickly low to his right to make a stunning save from Simon Walton's thunderous 20-yard free-kick. Baxter then got down smartly to save Wright's effort from the rebound.

The goalkeeper, who made a string of fine saves in the first half, would go on to win the man-of-the-match award for his display and his heroics reaped rewards as his side weathered the storm before going on to take the points.

Giving his verdict on an afternoon where his frustration at the quality of the officiating was matched by the wastefulness of his side's finishing, Doswell said: "I'm really annoyed. We were in complete control of the first half.

"We weren't ruthless enough. Tommy Wright had a free header and a chance from two yards out and we had an absolute nailed on penalty which I have just spoken to the assessor about and he's written it down as a nailed on penalty.

"Then they score one of the clearest offside goals you'll ever see where the guy has come running from behind Jamie Butler - he was actually in our net - and scored, and then we're a goal down after 50 minutes and having to chase the game.

"It was an unfair reflection on where we needed to be at that point and then their second goal with ten seconds to go is irrelevant as we're sticking men forward.

"We played against a team there that was time-wasting from almost minute one onwards and was looking to catch us on the break which, I suppose, is a compliment to us."

Flattery aside, Woking have made their Kingfield home a difficult place for visiting teams to come this season under the guidance of former Southampton youth coach Anthony Limbrick.

The Cards have now won five out of their six home matches and boast the best home record in the National League.

A clearly disappointed Doswell rued a missed opportunity for his side to dent that record and convert their dominance into goals.

"I thought we played really well for 45 minutes," said the Sutton boss.

"You can't take away from the players how well they played but when you're so dominant in games like this you need to take your chances.

"We had four or five of them, including the penalty decision and they are big decisions and big misses.

"We just said to them at half-time, make sure you don't get mugged off but we ended up having to chase the game due to some terrible, terrible decisions against us."

United now turn their attentions to this Saturday's home game against 18th-paced Barrow.

The Cumbrians, who have former Sutton midfielder Bedsente Gomis in their ranks, are expected to announce a new manager this week following the resignation of Paul Cox who has subsequently joined fellow National League side Guiseley.

Meanwhile, defender Jordan Bentley who had been on loan with the U's since the start of September for an three month period looks set to return to his parent club Plymouth Argyle early with Pilgrims' boss Derek Adams citing a lack of game time as the reason for the recall.

Sutton United v Barrow, Knights Community Stadium, Gander Green Lane, Sutton, SM1 2EY, Saturday, September 23, 3pm. More details at suttonunited.net