Oakside boss unhappy with referee after seeing team lose 4-1 at Bury Town

Redbridge joint-manager Dave Ross praised the performance of his team at Bury Town last night (Tuesday) in the Ryman North.

The Motormen made the long trip to Ram Meadow and eventually returned home to Oakside with no reward.

They suffered a 4-1 defeat in the end, but were level going into the 87th minute despite playing with 10 men.

Even though the hosts scored three times late on to take the points, Redbridge could be proud of their efforts.

“We made it until the 87th minute with 10 men and then the referee gives a penalty, which definitely wasn’t a foul,” said Ross.

“At 2-1 down, our goal difference isn’t very good this year, so we went all out to get something from the game. Holes started to appear and Bury picked us off, but overall it was an excellent performance.

“The sending off killed us and it was even until the penalty decision, but so many plus points can be taken from the game. We definitely deserved something from it.”

The Redbridge boss was left frustrated with the performance of the referee at Ram Meadow yesterday evening.

He felt Bury’s John Kennedy should have received a second yellow card before he was substituted in the 53rd minute.

And the decision to award a penalty late disappointed the Motormen manager as well, who was forced to name fellow joint boss Ricky Eaton on the bench last night.

The long trip on a midweek day made it difficult for the Oakside club, but things looked positive at half time with Charlie Portway’s goal ensuring it was 1-1.

Ross added: “There was more of a tail to the match than just the scoreline because we were the better side for the 90 minutes.

“We deserved to go one up early on and they equalised to make it 1-1. We came out for the second half and we were controlling the game.

“Then their central midfielder, who is already on a booking, makes a poor tackle and I think that should have been a red card.

“The referee didn’t make the right decision and Bury’s bench took him off almost straight away afterwards, they realised they had got away with one.

“Then Charlie Parish makes a tackle and I wouldn’t disagree with the decision, it was reckless from him and a shame as he was having a good game.

“He gets sent off and from being in control against Bury, who should have gone down to 10, we are now a man down. We were without a lot of people anyway because of the trip so we didn’t have another central defender on the bench.”

It made it a frustrating evening for Redbridge, but it was another encouraging performance and they’ll hope to build on that.

The draw for the Essex Senior Cup semi-finals was completed today (Wednesday) and if the Motormen beat Tilbury in their last eight clash at Oakside on February 23, they’ll travel to Ryman North rivals Heybridge Swifts in the next round.