Sam Walker insisted that referee James Adcock was “conned” into making the wrong decision, in awarding Crawley their match-winning penalty in Saturday’s relegation showdown.

Colchester United keeper Walker was adjudged to have brought down Izale McLeod in the box, which enabled the Red Devils striker to covert a 75th minute spot kick and so clinch a vital 3-2 away win.

At the time, it looked a harsh decision with any contact down to a bare minimum.

“For me, it’s not a penalty. He (McLeod) has tackled me – left his knee in on me,” explained a frustrated Walker.

“I’ve completely pulled my hands away – you’ll see that on the footage.

“We’ve certainly collided. But players are very clever these days – they are very good at conning referees. And I think the referee today was conned,” added Walker.

Earlier, Sammie Szmodics and David Fox had scored for the U’s, on 11 and 49 minutes respectively, Fox’s sublime free-kick making it 2-2.

But McLeod’s match-clinching penalty has left the U’s in 23rd spot, a distant six points adrift of safety going into the final 10 games of the season.

The U’s entertain basement dwellers Yeovil Town tomorrow evening, in a must-win game for both sides.

See today’s ‘East Anglian Daily Times’ newspaper for a full match report, pictures and quotes from Saturday’s defeat to Crawley.