AIDY Boothroyd refused to blame refereeing decisions for the 3-2 defeat at Oakwell, but to say he wasn't best pleased wouldn't be far off the mark.

The Hornets manager was clearly upset with his side's failure to win two of their strong penalty appeals and the fact that referee Mike Pike failed to spot the foul on 'keeper Richard Lee which lead to the Reds' winner.

The manager had seen his side unable to capitalise on their plethora of chances and superior possession at Oakwell. How Watford didn't come away with all three points will remain a mystery.

Lionel Ainsworth saw his first piece of the action in a yellow shirt and Damien Francis was back in the thick of first team football when he was introduced in the second half, but there was only one talking point.

Boothroyd said: "I'm not the type to complain about referee's decisions, we're accountable for the chances that we failed to put away early on as well. Barnsley raced into a two goal lead and we did well to get ourselves back in the game.

"For 35 minutes it was one way traffic, but they took their opportunities and we didn't. and if you give a team the chances to score and they take them then they will.

"We had two clear penalties refused and a foul on Richard Lee that lead to the third goal, so I'm not happy. I've been in to see the referee and told him what I thought. I would like to think he has taken on board my comments and i'd be surprised if he doesn't.

"We were a big scalp for Barnsley today and they came for us, but they have got quality and Simon Davey has done really, really well here. It was a nice anniversary for him.

"It put things in perspective when the fans were singing Al Bangura's name. He's got his hearing on Monday and he'll find out his future. As for us, we will bounce back starting with Tuesday night against Burnley."