JOHN CARVER believes referee Lee Mason cost Newcastle United dearly at Anfield last night when he felt his players were delivering the perfect response to their Wear-Tyne derby disaster.

Eight days after losing to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, the Magpies slipped to a fifth successive defeat at Liverpool – but Carver thinks it could quite easily have been different.

After Raheem Sterling had given Liverpool the lead with a brilliant opener in the ninth minute, Newcastle prevented a second from going in before half-time and actually had a few chances themselves to level.

And with seven minutes remaining of the first half, Carver was left furious when Mason failed to point to the spot when Ayoze Perez was tripped in the area by a clumsy challenge from Dejan Lovren in front of the Kop.

Play was waved on despite the claims and then Liverpool went on to leave Newcastle wondering where the next win will come from ahead of Sunday’s visit of Tottenham when key midfielder Moussa Sissoko will now be suspended for his late red card at Anfield.

Carver said: “There was a huge decision. I would like to ask if anyone thought it wasn’t a penalty? I don’t want to be a moaner. But we don’t get big decisions. Is it me? I have to accept the referee made an honest mistake.

“It’s difficult. The referee will go away and look at it tomorrow. He gives what he sees. His vision could have been obscured.

“People understand the game. Liverpool fans understand the game like Newcastle fans do. Even Brendan (Rodgers) felt straight away it was a penalty.

“There was a spell during the game with some strange decisions. I will not be critical of his play in general. But it was a big decision. Contracts and jobs and livelihoods are decided on big decisions like that. It is people on this side of the fence who are punished for those decisions though.”

Carver was speaking 45 minutes after the final whistle had blown and he reflected –despite Joe Allen adding to the lead with 20 minutes to play - that his players should be pleased with how they reacted to their horrible showing at Sunderland in their previous outing.

“Now I have calmed down, I thought the first nine minutes we were very tentative. We were nervous after the performance against Sunderland,” said Carver.

“Once Liverpool scored, we spoke about not allowing Sterling in on his right foot. After that we grew into the game, we showed a bit of character after the Sunderland game.

“I thought we could crumble here, it would have been easy to crumble against a team battling for top four. But we grew into the game and we didn’t crumble.

“We have still responded from that dreadful performance against Sunderland. There are a lot of things we can take in to the last six games. We need some points. It is important that we get some points.

“The fans got a response. We didn’t get a result but there was a response. Anything would have been better after that Sunderland game. I have seen enough here. We now have Fabricio Coloccini to come back in to the side.

“There were positives. I think a lot of people expected us to get a hiding and we held our own against a top side with an abundance of talent.”

But Carver was annoyed with the actions of his stand-in skipper Sissoko. The Frenchman had already been cautioned for a shoving match with Glen Johnson when he picked up a second yellow card for a tackle on Liverpool midfielder Lucas.

Sissoko could have received a straight red for the challenge, given his studs planted straight in the shin leg area of Lucas. He will still, though, miss back-to-back home games with Spurs and Swansea.

Carver, who revealed Siem De Jong and Rolando Aarons could figure for the reserves tomorrow, said: “I felt like we had cracked it.

“We went out second half and went on the front foot again. For me we dominated some parts of the play without opening up their back four.

“But it could have been a straight red for Moussa, we were fortunate it was a yellow card. I am straight and I won’t defend anyone if I think it was deserved. We got away with it but it is still a two match ban because he has been sent off before. There will be some disciplinary procedure.”