Cruel? Yes. Heartbreaking? Yes. Unfortunate? No, that's a much harder sell for the Peterborough United camp

Posh were outshot 25-7 at the Toughsheet Stadium by a Bolton team who had almost two-and-a-half times as many touches in the opposition penalty area. Heroic Posh goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic made 10 saves, several of them very decent ones, while his opposite number was only seriously tested by one of his own defenders.

For every claim made by the Posh camp there was a significant counter-argument. Conceding a goal in the 99th minute when only six minutes were going to be added on? Referee Ollie Yates could easily have added more than six minutes on in the first place given the time Posh players sat down for treatment in the second-half.

The penalty award was questionable? It really wasn’t. And anyway Bolton should been awarded one 12 minutes from time for what looked like an even more obvious haul down of an attacking player. The ball was handled into the net by substitute Klaidi Lolos? Not from the angles I’ve seen which suggested the unfortunate Bilokapic’s desperate attempt to make a third save in quick succession saw him boot the ball at the scorer’s chest.

We can all agree there is little trust in the decision-making and time-keeping of our officials. A lot of what they do makes little sense. Why does a corner have to be taken when the nominated time added on (and yes I’m aware it’s a minimum amount) has been and gone?

If that last-gasp Bolton cross had drifted out for a goal-kick rather than a corner there is surely little doubt referee Ollie Yates would have blown for full-time as soon as Bilokapic had cleared his lines. Instead we played on and there was a clumsy foul so a penalty from which Bolton were given three attempts to score. It’s a brave ref who would have blown for full-time as soon as Bilokapic had saved a rather weak spot-kick, but should he have done? Are we supposed to believe time ran out exactly at the time Posh kicked off again? By then we were into the 99th minute

Ah well. Posh robbed Stevenage of a result with the last kick of the ball a few weeks back. At least Bolton deserved their success.

OTHER TALKING POINTS FROM BOLTON 1, POSH 0….

1) Results, even controversial late defeats, always influence how a performance level is judged. There were positives to take. Posh showed a greater willingness to block shots with Archie Collins and Oscar Wallin in particular excelling, and centre-backs Wallin and Emmanuel Fernandez generally defended their penalty area pretty well, but if a first clean sheet of the League One season had arrived it would have been down to the agility of Bilokapic. Another day this game could have finished 4-0 and some of the individual displays would have been re-assessed. Defensive issues remain. Teams play past Posh in wide areas far too easily. Nothing I saw yesterday makes me want to argue with manager Darren Ferguson’s recent comment about his side ‘suffering’ defensively while trying to outscore the opposition.

2) Posh had far less of the ball than their hosts yesterday, but the opportunities to wreak havoc were there. The fab front four often picked up the ball in space and with room to attack, but the decision-making and precision that enabled them to stick five goals past Blackpool in their previous outing was disappointingly absent. Shots were delayed or rushed and crosses rarely found their target, although Malik Mothersille delivered a couple of high-class ones. Ricky-Jade Jones was a passenger, unable or unwilling, to run away from the formidable Ricardo Santos. It was a surprise Jones went off just a matter of minutes after being switched to the left wing and streaking clear to send over a fine cross though. One possible outlet for a harassed defence promptly disappeared.

3) Going into a season with two teenage right-backs has proved to be risky. Jadel Katongo, who was at the game with his Manchester City clubmate, and fellow Posh loanee, Mahamadou Susoho, might end up playing as a full-back when he returns to action.

4) Posh are now 14th. They could drop to 16th after the midweek fixtures for teams catching up on postponed matches. A third of the season has almost gone, but the mission must still be to try to stay within a reasonable striking distance until the injured players return. It’s fourth-from bottom Cambridge United at home next up in League One and even they have managed to win three games in a row after losing eight of their first nine matches so anything’s possible.