Darren Ferguson says his Peterborough side were cost by a “horrendous mistake” as they suffered a late defeat at Wanderers.

Klaidi Lolos bundled home with virtually the final kick of the match after Dion Charles’ penalty had been saved by Nicholas Bilokapic.

“The game we are involved in can be very cruel, as it showed today with the last kick of the ball,” said Ferguson.

“As managers, players and fans, this is what we are up against with the standard and quality of the officials.

“Watching it back, the linesman has to stand on the line to obviously see if there is any infringement.

“Charles has made the kick, Nick saved it and he has ran back out the way so he can’t see anything.

“I just spoke to the assessor and he said he has made a horrendous mistake. If he stands where he is, it is a handball.

"I am told it is the last kick of the ball, he has three attempts at it. I am told it is 96:30 because of the substitution and they get the corner on 97:02. They are miles away, the standard.”

The result leaves Peterborough 13th in the League One table following a frustrating start to the campaign.

However, Ferguson is confident positive results are around the corner if they can replicate the “desire and determination” shown at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

“They are a good team, Bolton. They will be in the top six, no question, with the amount of money they have spent and the amount of players they have. They have got good quality in their team,” he added.

“When you come away from home, sometimes what you might get is you are not brilliant on the ball or perfect in possession, and we certainly weren’t second half.

“First half, I thought we were good. If you get that, you have to have determination to make sure get a clean sheet. We showed it today and deserved a clean sheet.

“It has taken the referee’s awful decision… not the penalty so much, but after that or before that in terms of the time.

“I just said that is the starting point and if we can show that desire and determination, with the quality we have got, we will win lots of games.”