PAUL Robinson has contested the penalty award that gave Manchester City their first goal at Eastlands last night.

The full-back was penalised on the half-hour mark for a foul on winger Adam Johnson just inside the area, allowing Carlos Tevez to drive home his 13th league goal of the season from the spot.

Owen Coyle described the award as “soft” and Robinson too bemoaned his luck – arguing that the ball was running out for a goal kick.

“I thought it was a little bit harsh,” he said. “When a player goes down in the box a referee is automatically going to look at it and think I tried to tackle him.

“I stuck my leg out and he ran into me, what else could I do? The ball wasn’t exactly going to stay on the pitch, and I think any normal referee would have just given a goal kick but when you come to these places you don’t get anything.”

Despite the 2-0 defeat, Robinson sees reason for optimism in upcoming games against Wigan and Blackburn, which are likely to have a more profound effect on the lower reaches of the table.

“It was the same old story but the thing is, we’re playing well so we have to take positives.

“We’re creating enough chances to get ourselves back into games but we’re not getting much help from referees for some reason.

“Hopefully the players themselves can keep their spirits lifted and even though we’ve lost a few games, take confidence from the performances and know we can carry on from there.”