RICHARD Hughes is convinced Cherries were denied a blatant penalty during their 2-1 defeat at Chesterfield on Saturday, reports Neil Perrett.

Hughes led the protestations following the final whistle after referee Mike Pike had turned down Cherries' appeals for a spot kick in injury time.

Cherries were furious after Chesterfield striker Luke Beckett appeared to handle Tresor Kandol's goalbound header inside the six-yard box.

Hughes said: "From my angle, the Chesterfield player clearly struck the ball with his hand to stop it going in the net.

"The referee put his whistle to his mouth and that's why I asked him why he was about to give it and then didn't blow.

"He said it wasn't intentional, but you see it all the time when players put their hands up. It should have been a penalty and it denied us the chance of getting a point."

Cherries boss Sean O'Driscoll added: "The referee said it was handball, but he said it wasn't intentional.

"I don't think I've ever seen an intentional handball inside the penalty area, but penalties are given for it.

"I think the lads are annoyed because the referee put his whistle to his mouth and changed his mind.

"Nobody deliberately handles the ball inside the penalty area and nobody deliberately kicks someone inside the penalty area, but penalties are given for it."

Hughes admitted Cherries paid the price for two defensive lapses, but felt O'Driscoll's side would have been worthy of a point.

He added: "We lost a sloppy second goal which started from a throw-in and the first one was from a set-piece. The little things cost us, but apart from that we were okay.

"You always come to places like Chesterfield and expect to be under pressure. But if you manage to see it out, like we thought we had, we would have deserved a point.

"We have kept three clean sheets recently and started to eliminate the soft goals. Hopefully this was just a blip and we can return to normal next week."