Folkestone Invicta boss Andy Drury on forward Dan Smith’s controversial red card in 1-0 Isthmian Premier derby defeat against Dover Athletic

Folkestone manager Andy Drury blasted referee Steve Goldup after their derby defeat to Dover - saying he hopes he never referees his side again.

Mr Goldup, a late replacement for injured referee Kane Dempster, was at the centre of the controversial moment of Invicta’s 1-0 Isthmian Premier loss to the leaders as he red-carded forward Dan Smith for a meaty challenge on Whites’ Alfie Matthews on Tuesday night.

Drury said: “I’ve just seen it and it’s probably one of the worst decisions that I’ve ever seen in my whole life! It was never a red card.

“He’s not touched him, he’s not near him and I’ve just seen that very clearly. For a referee to give that in a derby game especially, it’s unforgivable, really.”

Drury revealed it was not the first time his team had been on the wrong end of key decisions in matches for Mr Goldup in the past couple of seasons.

“I’m proud of the boys,” revealed the boss, who confirmed he expects Folkestone to appeal 10-goal Smith’s sending-off.

“We have been done over again by another referee - and that’s the third time he has done it to us since he’s been refereeing.

Report: Folkestone 0-1 Dover

“He did it to us against Cray Wanderers last year (in a 2-2 draw), which he’s just admitted to me, and gave Hastings a penalty when it wasn’t a penalty on Bank Holiday Monday (despite Invicta still winning that game 2-1). He’s just done that to us now.

“I hope he never referees us ever again.”

Even with 10 men, the home team put Dover under a lot of late pressure in their search for a late leveller.

Drury reflected: “We dominated from start to finish, even with 10 men, for 30 or 40 minutes.

“I thought we were, by far, the better team for pretty much the whole game, and I don’t really think anyone can