Northampton Town manager Kevin Nolan couldn’t hide his frustrations with the referee following his side’s 4-0 defeat at Lincoln City.
The Cobblers suffered their first defeat in three but find themselves just a point above the drop.
‘Absolutely Ridiculous’
The former Newcastle United midfielder was left fuming about the red card shown to former Imps loanee Jack Vale in the 56th minute, with the score at 2-0.
After a scramble in the Lincoln penalty area, Vale appeared to strike towards goal and had his effort blocked by Ben House.
Referee Kirsty Dowle deemed this to be a dangerous challenge and issued the red card. Speaking to the Northampton Chronicle, Nolan said:
“The referee was poor throughout the night, and I thought she was well out of her depth if I’m honest. The red card is absolutely ridiculous.”
“We will appeal it, but they won’t overturn it, I know they won’t, and now I’m going to lose my striker for three games.”
“It’s a really, really poor decision at a critical time in the game. Nobody else would give it. The referee has gone off their shouts and screams. Nothing else. Everybody knows it. To send him off for that is incredible.”
Nolan went on to suggest that the home players helped to influence Dowle’s decision.
“He actually takes a shot, and he gets the ball, and their lad does what you would call ‘good cheating’. He’s probably not expecting a red card, but they’ve all got in the referee’s face.”
Vale, who joined Northampton in the summer, will now face a suspension after his straight red.
“Jack’s not that type of player, and he’s just getting himself into a run of games, and now he’s out for three games.”
Nolan Questions Opener
Lincoln took the lead in the 11th minute when on loan Sheffield United striker Ryan Oné was put through by Freddie Draper and finished expertly.
Nolan, however, believes that the goal should have been ruled out.
“The first one is possibly offside, and there’s also a certain push in the back of our player. It might be soft, but nine times out of 10 it gets given, but obviously the referee didn’t want to give it.”
In truth, Northampton Town offered very little threat before or after the red card to Vale and were comfortably beaten by a Lincoln side who didn’t need to get into top gear.
The defeat leaves the Cobblers a point above Leyton Orient, but having played a game more. Next up for Nolan’s side is a home game against The O’s on Saturday, a fixture that could have a huge bearing on the race to avoid the drop.