Keeper’s red card compounds misery for Wakehurst

Gregg was angered by the second half dismissal of goalkeeper Marc Maybin following a tussle with Queens player McDowell.

“Marc said he had been stamped on and he reacted by pushing their player in the chest and was red-carded.

“The reaction of the player certainly didn’t help the situation and it was frustrating that one part of the incident was seen by the referee.

“Our performance overall was decent - I didn’t think Queens were any better than us and they are sitting at the top of the table,” added Gregg.

In a scoreless first half, Wakehurst felt they should have been awarded a penalty after Jason Paul appeared to be impeded by James Ferris but the referee waved play on.

George Young had one last attempt for Wakehurst prior to half-time, stinging the hands of Brown with a crisply hit shot after Conor Gregg had created the opportunity.

The match changed dramatically three minutes into the second half when Maybin was dismissed.

After a five minute delay and a reshuffle of the Wakehurst team, Macauley Cairns replaced Maybin, with Ryan Gregg being sacrificed.

Wakehurst continued to have a fair share of possession but they were hit with a double punch in the space of two minutes.

Thompson gave Queens the lead on 65 minutes and before they had time to recover, Ferrin headed in number two from a corner after 67 minutes.

Defender Paul Muir gave Wakehurst hope on 70 minutes, turning sharply just inside the 18-yard area before picking his spot out of the reach of Brown. The home team dictated the final 20 minutes without ever really threatening to snatch an equaliser.

Wakehurst: M Maybin, G Dickey, P Muir, C Rogers, D Stevenson, M Crawford, G Young, C Gregg, J Paul, R Gregg, R Young. Subs: M Cairns, J Lemon, A Laughlin, D Gage, R Culbertson.

This Saturday, November 23, Wakehurst have a rearranged fixture against Lurgan Celtic at Mill Meadow, Castledawson (3pm).