Bristol City slipped to a third defeat in a row following a controversial refereeing decision in the 84th minute of their final game before Christmas.
The Robins were grounded after referee Tony Harrington awarded a spot-kick following a tangling between Tommy Rowe and Atdhe Nuhui on the edge of the box.
While Rowe may have been judged harshly - with the watching Sky Sports commentators labelling the decision as a "soft, soft penalty" - the former Doncaster Rovers captain did have his arms on the attacker.
Garry Monk was adamant it was a penalty following the game - but Lee Johnson unsurprisingly saw things differently. The City boss also explained that he had spoken to the referee after the game after explaining to Sky Sports that the referee had apologised for the decision.
"It's definitely not a penalty, we've seen that. Sky have just showed it to me and their reporters have suggested it's not a penalty," he said.
"The ref's got sucked in for me really.
"It's arguable whether it's really in the box. It's just a coming together with the ball spinning away.
"If that was a 17-year-old left-back you might think he's a bit eager but Rowe's an experienced 32-year-old player... the ball's spinning away in the channel. Nobody's in possession of the ball. And it's a simple coming together of both parties.
"Nuhiu is halfway down before there's any contact.
"Yeah, I spoke to the referee - and I went in there. He invited me in. But listen, that will stay private," he explained.
Meanwhile the Robins head coach conceded that his side had not shown enough quality in the game, particularly in midfield.
"We defended well. That's what's frustrating. We came here and we picked a defensive set-up and we worked hard on our defensive shape during the week," he explained.
"We were disciplined and generally good at that but we didn't show enough quality - there's no hiding that - compared to what we're used to seeing. Particularly in midfield.
"And maybe in forward areas. But we had a couple of chances to nick it ourselves," he said in his post-match press conference.
Johnson went on to explain that he aims to trim his squad in January and recruit in several positions.
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