Wakehurst boss angry at red card incident

WAKEHURST boss Ian Gregg was not as happy as you might expect after his side’s 1-0 Belfast Telegraph Championship Two victory over landlords Moyola Park on Saturday.
Wakehurst striker Conor Gregg turns away from a Moyola Park opponent during Saturday's Championship Two match at Mill Meadow. Picture: Damian McKee.Wakehurst striker Conor Gregg turns away from a Moyola Park opponent during Saturday's Championship Two match at Mill Meadow. Picture: Damian McKee.
Wakehurst striker Conor Gregg turns away from a Moyola Park opponent during Saturday's Championship Two match at Mill Meadow. Picture: Damian McKee.

The Ballymena side’s manager was bristling with indignation at referee Ian McNabb’s decision to send off Wakehurst midfielder Ryan Gregg after the official deemed he had deliberately kicked the ball at an opponent during a stoppage in play.

“It was an absolute nothing incident,” fumed Gregg.

“We had been penalised and Ryan literally trundled the ball back towards the scene of the foul from 15 yards away.

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“It hit the Moyola player on the elbow as he lay on the ground and the referee instantly produced the red card.

“It’s frustrating when you see it on a weekly basis - there are two-footed tackles going unpunished, while referees and assistants seem more pre-occupied with things like making sure you haven’t got an extra person in the dugout.

Referees are paid handsomely whereas me and my players aren’t paid at all but there doesn’t seem to be any accountability.

“Overall it was a flat performance from us but we did enough to win,” added Gregg.

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The only goal of the game came three minutes before the interval, when Mark Crawford headed home Lee McCaughern’s cross via the underside of the crossbar.

Wakehurst: M Maybin, M Crawford, P Alexander, D Stevenson, R Colville, A Laughlin, L McCaughern, S Mellon, C Gregg, J Paul, R Gregg. Subs: R Young, R Culbertson, J Lemon, D Parker, T Cunningham.

This Saturday Wakehurst travel to Belfast to take on Champions elect, Knockbreda (3pm), the first of Wakehurst’s three remaining games, all against teams in the top four positions.

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