Frustration palpable as Glebe lose

GLEBE RANGERS 1

To say it was a frustrating weekend for Glebe Rangers boss Jason Wilmont was an understatement, writes Gillian Anderson.

An early red card, a surefire penalty turned down, receiving a red card himself and the loss of three points to Sports & Leisure was made all the more exasperating for Wilmont as his players produced a good performance, deserving something out of the game.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” commented Jason. “Some of the calls being made by the linesman were hard to fathom out.

“We had Sam Shaw sent off after five minutes. It wasn’t a dirty tackle or anything, the two players were on the ground and there arms were locked together, Sam was trying to get up and the other player was trying to get up at the same time and next thing the other player went down and started moaning and groaning, next thing the ref came over after the linesman said something to him and gave a straight red.

“Their second and third goals were fouls on our players and they they played on, I think it was the second one which tipped me over the edge.

“I was sent off 20 minutes before the end. Things had been going on throughout the game. One of the times we were leading one nil and I kept asking the linesman how long was left but he wouldn’t answer me. Yet Packie McAllister the Sports and Leisure manager was standing chatting away to him.

“Then before half time one of their players caught the ball with his hand in front of the linesman and yet we got nothing even though it was a certain penalty. You would have thought they were playing rugby the length of time he had it in his hand. Even Oliver McAuley their Assistant Manager said to me that it was a disgrace some of the decisions that were being made against us.

“It came to a head when was sitting in the dugout with Ricky Nicholl and Gary Little talking and I said that man there is blatantly cheating against us and he called the referee over and I was told to leave. I asked why and he said its because you said my official was cheating and I then said ‘Do you not think he is?’ and that was that, off I went.

“That’s my second red this year so I’ll probably get a four game ban and £100 or £150 fine. I didn’t speak to the referee afterwards because I was too angry about things but apparently he had said to some of our boys afterwards that he had made a mistake and should have given a penalty.

“That could have changed the whole game, we would have been two nil up and I reckon it would have been game over because we were playing so well.”

Despite the dramas Jason was impressed with the performance of his team.

“It was one of those weeks when a lot of players were unavailable so I only had 12 players to pick from. Wee Danny Wright had to play 75 minutes and he had already played 90 minutes that morning for the Reserves and he did really, really well. Wee Chrissy Wilson got his first start and did a good job for us. Fair play to the young lads who came up from the Reserves, they did really well.

“We had played brilliantly in the first half, especially with ten men. We could have been two up regardless of the penalty but we missed a couple of good chances. It was a very frustrating day but you have to put it behind you. If we can put that effort in every week from now on then we will get the points we need to ensure we are safe.”

This week Glebe Rangers are at home to Lurgan Celtic, another tough game for the side who will be without Wilmont at the helm.

“It doesn’t get any easier but we should have a full strength squad for this week but it will be hard choosing the side after the way some of the young lads played on Saturday. Lurgan Celtic are the best team in the league at the moment so it’s important to get the strongest team possible. I know we are safe but I still need to get a few more points on the board to make sure we are 100% safe and give me peace of mind.

“To be honest I want to see the back of this season and be able to start and build and work on next season. Next year four teams go down so its imperative we stay up and that means an awful lot of work ahead.”