Wanderers 0 Manchester City 1 GARY Megson must hate the sight of flag wavers. For the second time in four days the new Wanderers boss saw a match turn on the actions of a referee's assistant.

On Sunday a disputed throw-in - given Wanderers' way by a linesman but over-ruled by the referee - cost the Whites two precious Premiership points and last night an even more controversial decision on the same touchline, just five minutes from time, cost them a place in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

A hotly disputed penalty - won and converted by City's top scorer, Elano - was a travesty of justice against Wanderers and in particular, substitute Lubo Michalik, who was harshly judged to have handled the Brazilian's cross.

The Slovakian - on for the injured Joey O'Brien - attempted to intercept the ball with his chest but looked on in horror as the assistant, Mo Matadar, signalled penalty and referee Howard Webb, who initially saw nothing untoward, took the hint and pointed to the spot.

Wanderers looked to be heading for extra-time in the ascendancy, having had the better of the second half after an uninspiring first period.

And even after the bitter blow of seeing their cup chances so controversially shattered, they still managed to cause chaos in the City area as they tried to rescue the tie.

El-Hadji Diouf hit the bar with a free kick, Kevin Nolan had a header cleared off the line and City keeper Andreas Isaksson had to go full-stretch to get a hand to a back-header from Richard Dunne.

But their luck was out in more ways than one. The match added to Megson's casualty list that has already put top scorer Nicolas Anelka on the "doubtful" list for Sunday's Premiership game at West Ham and which prompted him to rest Kevin Davies.

Now the two O'Briens - Joey who limped off in the first half with a hamstring problem and the outstanding Andy who played with a broken nose and eventually gave in to a back injury 13 minutes from time, will also spend the next few days in the treatment room.

Going out of the Carling Cup might well prove a blessing in disguise for Megson, whose prime concern is picking up survival points, but the Wanderers boss found no comfort in that theory last night after feeling so harshly done to.

He made four changes from the side that drew with Aston Villa but still got a performance that gave him confidence for the future - although neither he nor City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson can have drawn any encouragement from the first half.

Two goal attempts in the first half hour - a speculative long-range free kick by Dietmar Hamman and a brave but off-target header by Stelios - was the best they could muster.

And it was, perhaps, fitting that the only decent scoring chance of a wretched first 45 minutes brought an equally dire finish from Michael Johnson - the City kid reckoned to be the next Colin Bell - who stabbed the ball a yard wide after Georgios Samara played him in behind Lubo Michalik.

It was a let-off that inspired Wanderers to finish the first half strongly with Danny Guthrie wrong-footing Micah Richards to hit a powerful right footer narrowly wide then clipping in a delightful cross for Abdoulaye Meite, whose glancing header was just as close.

What Megson wouldn't have given for the finishing power of a Garry Jones - pin-up idol of yesteryear whose half-time appearance revived memories of his hat-trick when Wanderers beat City 3-0 at Burnden Park in a 3rd round League Cup tie in 1971 - the last time the local rivals met in a knockout competition.

The game finally got its first shot on target - a 25-yarder from Stelios which Isaksson gathered comfortably - in the 62nd minute and the second half at least saw more enterprise from both sides.

Yet still the finishing was wayward: Darius Vassell, on for Garrido, skied a shot high into the ranks of City fans massed behind the South Stand goal and Guthrie's sights were equally stray when he fired over at the other end after great work by Kevin Nolan.

Injuries caused both managers to chop and change and England manager Steve McClaren will be concerned to hear that Micah Richards was stretchered off with a twisted knee.

But it was Wanderers who looked the more likely as extra-time loomed.

Then came the flag of inconvenience.