East Kilbride Thistle boss Garry O’Hanlon says referee Scott Douglas apologised for wrongly red carding his goalkeeper in a 1-0 defeat at Vale of Clyde.
Iain Stewart had replaced injured Kieran Bell at the interval of the West of Scotland League Third Division clash. But 10-15 minutes into the half, he was sent off for ‘handling the ball outside of his area’ – despite there being a ball-mark on his orange shorts, where it had connected with his thigh.
Disappointed O’Hanlon demanded an explanation over the dismissal and says the whistler held his hands up over his mistake. But despite the loss, and ending the game with Barry Russell in goal, O’Hanlon reckons the performance could be a turning point on his side’s sticky start to their league campaign, with just one win in seven attempts.
He said: “We got our goalie sent off early in the second half, and the referee then said he had made a mistake in doing that. “It had a bit of an impact on the game! “I was pretty calm.