'Harsh': Wigan Athletic boss criticises key decision in verdict on Sunderland defeat
Wigan Athletic boss Kolo Toure criticised the decision to award Sunderland a second-half penalty that proved so crucial in his side's 4-1 defeat on Thursday night.
Patrick Roberts had been on the pitch for a matter of minutes when he was felled by Tom Naylor inside the box, with fellow substitute Ross Stewart narrowly squeezing his penalty past Jamie Jones.
Sunderland went on to add another two goals through Roberts and Amad, with Toure saying the result was again harsh after they were beaten on Boxing Day by the same scoreline at Middlesbrough.
"I thought it was a tough result, because the boys gave everything again tonight," Toure said.
"We started the game well, and managed to come back after the disappointment of conceding the first goal.
"In the second half, we managed to put them under pressure, and we could have gone 2-1 in front, if Callum (Lang) had squared the ball across goal.
"Unfortunately that didn't happen, and after the penalty it was tough for us.
"The penalty, in my opinion, was harsh, and I don't think a team like Sunderland needed those kinds of decisions to help them.
"After that we are chasing the game, and you have to react to that.
"We want to keep attacking and score, and when you're playing against a Sunderland side with so many attacking options, you are risking being punished.
"I feel that they have been two scorelines that didn't reflect the games we played."
Wigan slipped to the bottom of the Championship table after the defeat.