Alan Pardew said Newcastle have not had a penalty decision go their way 'all year' after Brighton knocked them out of the FA Cup.
Will Buckley grabbed the winner via a deflection off Mike Williamson in the 76th minute, but there was late controversy after Yohan Cabaye's shot was charged down by what appeared to be Ashley Barnes' hand.
"There was a big shout from our fans and I guessed it hit a hand," Pardew told reporters.
"But we haven't had one of them all year."
"We must have had 11 penalties against us and hardly had a shout of one for us from a referee. I didn't expect to get a break, if I'm honest."
Pardew said the result was tough on his team because of the way they had controlled the game, and conceded it was an important game that had escaped them.
"It was tough on us because we had good control of the game, although we were hoping to threaten the goal a little bit more than we did. You're always liable to get caught on the break which we were."
"We were unfortunate on the goal, I thought. Danny (Simpson) had just been booked and couldn't really make a challenge, so he (Buckley) skipped past Danny - and then the deflection. It's the only shot they've had of any threat so it is disappointing."
"We knew today's game was important because the core of our team are coming back to us. There was no (Fabricio) Coloccini, no Chieck (Tiote), Papiss (Cisse) and Demba (Ba)."
Meanwhile, Brighton manager Gus Poyet was in good spirits.T
he manager was more pleased with the result than his side's performance.
"It's special, this cup; it's beautiful," he said.
"I've said before I play, after I've played, it's the best cup in the world."
"It would be a dream (to lead the team to the FA Cup final). I think right now we will look at the draw tomorrow. Depending on who we get we might celebrate, but I won't tell you who for."
"It's massive. It's true that we beat Sunderland this year, but I think it was a different time in the season, and Newcastle have been better this year than Sunderland which just shows that it's been a very difficult game."
Poyet admitted they were lucky, not only because of the outcome, but due to who was available to Pardew.
"There were no silly mistakes, no silly risks. They're quicker than you, stronger than you, read the game better, so it was a game that we needed to be spot on, especially in our half and we did that. That gave us the chance to go on and win the game."
"We got lucky. It was the best time to play Newcastle. Everybody knows that Mr (Demba) Ba is on fire this season, and he was not here."