Soccer-Bristol City boss Cotterill slams late WBA equaliser

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill blamed poor time-keeping by the referee after his team were denied the Premier League scalp of West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup third round on Saturday. Championship (second tier) side City were leading 2-1 deep into stoppage time at the Hawthorns, thanks to goals by Jonathan Kodjia and Kieran Agard in reply to Saido Berahino's opener for the hosts just past the hour mark. Four minutes of stoppage time were indicated but the match was in its 95th when James Morrison's equaliser forced a 2-2 draw and a replay. "Upon the free kick being taken there was no time left in the game but they've been allowed to put the ball in our box," said Cotterill. "We deserved to win the game. We timed it, he (the referee) is wrong and needs to blow the whistle. They were out of time and it shouldn't be a goal. "That was our game today and we've had it taken away from us," added Cotterill. City are third from bottom in the Championship, while West Brom are mid-table, but for long periods they more than matched their top-flight opponents. West Brom manager Tony Pulis had been critical of the scheduling of Premier League matches next midweek and now faces another game in the cluttered calendar with a replay the week after next. "We will now need to manage them over the next few weeks with two consecutive midweek games coming up," he said. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Tony Jimenez)