THE end of an eight-game unbeaten run was certainly no laughing matter for Matt Mills at Huddersfield Town.

Although the acting skipper described the decision to allow Nakhi Wells’ winners as “comical” – there wasn’t a hint of smile on the defender’s face as he delivered a damning assessment of referee Trevor Kettle’s performance at the John Smith’s Stadium.

The Whites had the added hurt of an Emile Heskey goal wrongly disallowed for offside but it was a handball from former loanee Jacob Butterfield which went unpunished that really put Mills in a bad mood.

“It’s frustrating because I think we completely dominated the game,” he told The Bolton News.

“I honestly don’t know how we’ve lost it.

“I have to be careful what I say – but I’m disappointed, put it that way. There was no suspicion of handball in the build up to their goal, it just was.

“There was a free kick on me, two on Neil Danns, and then the ball bobbled up, he handles it and then slips the striker in.

“It’s almost comical how he hasn’t spotted one of them.

“I’m just flat, I don’t know what to say it’s just so bad.”

Mills’ view was shared by Tim Ream, although the American was slightly more diplomatic than his defensive partner.

“We’ve looked at the video and it’s a clear handball,” he said. “The lads have also said Emile was clearly onside for ours, so it’s a double blow.

“It’s the way the game goes, sometimes you get them and sometimes they go against you.”

Ream admitted that while Wanderers were on top for spells in the first and second half, they did not create as many chances as they would have liked. Eidur Gudjohnsen had one gilt-edged chance to seal the game just before half time when Alex Smithies came to his side’s rescue with a smart save.

But otherwise, Ream conceded the Whites struggled to make their possession count.

“Once we scored early on it woke them up and they gave it a really good go in that first half,” he said.

“I don’t think we really had a lot of clear-cut chances even in the second half but we controlled the game for large portions.

“To have started and finished the game the way we did it’s disappointing to have come away empty-handed.”

Neil Lennon is confident the defeat will not leave any lasting damage to his ever-improving side.

“I knew there would be bumps in the road and this has been one,” he said. “I didn’t think we’d lose the game but at 1-1, particularly away from home, you never know.

“Two shocking decisions have really cost us and I am not happy about it at all.”

- Wanderers will be looking to bounce back when they take on Wigan in the FA Cup third round on January 3.