Caldwell did not deserve red card says Exeter assistant
Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell did not deserve to be sent off in their 0-0 draw at Lincoln City, according to his assistant Kevin Nicholson.
Caldwell was dismissed from the dugout in the aftermath of the Grecians having a late goal disallowed at Sincil Bank.
Ryan Trevitt’s stoppage-time strike was adjudged to have hit Angus MacDonald on the hand by referee Declan Bourne.
It is the second time this year Caldwell has been sent off, having received a two-match ban following a red card during January’s 2-1 loss at Wycombe Wanderers.
“We scored a perfectly good goal that was taken away,” Nicholson told BBC Radio Devon.
“The manager went to speak to the fourth official to ask why it was taken away.
“He didn’t swear, didn’t push anybody, didn’t point any fingers and then the ref came over and sent him off for persistent infringement of which he hadn’t been warned about and he certainly hadn’t had a yellow card up until that point.
“He is very frustrated in there, we’re very frustrated that a perfectly good goal has been taken away.
“The lads are gutted, for want of a better word, as to how hard they’ve worked to get that one opportunity that they’ve taken and it’s been taken away from them through things that they can’t control.”
Nicholson says he was impressed with how his side coped after Caldwell’s dismissal, as they claimed a fourth clean sheet in five games.
The Grecians are 16th in League One, nine points clear of the bottom four with nine games to play.
“I would say the biggest plus I can give the lads after that is that they didn’t crumble,” he added.
“There was four minutes left and you always get that feeling when that happens that you could be in trouble, they could go up and nick another one and you feel really hard done to.
“So brilliant that they composed themselves, brilliant that they stayed composed throughout a game, certainly defensively.
“That the referee gave twice as many fouls against us than he gave to to us, and it wasn’t that kind of game, it was a 50-50 game.
“I think it’s really difficult as those build up to hold yourself together and testament to the lads that they managed to do that.”
Lincoln City Most Disappointing XI – Who Are Your Picks?
On the podcast a week or so ago, we did a run-through of our best Lincoln City XIs.
It prompted discussion, but the sort of discussion that doesn’t end up in blocking people on social media. Instead, people debated and discussed, and then yesterday, we were asked to do something else.
It’s not a Worst XI; they’re easy; players with one rogue appearance, such as Simon Brown, almost write themselves into the team. Brown wasn’t a bad keeper, but with one game and five goals conceded, he didn’t shine for us.
No, we were asked to do something a little different. Emily Rooke said: “I enjoyed the Imps best 11 on the last pod. I’d love to hear an alternative Imps 11 – players who would NEVER make a best 11 😬 There’d have to be some rules re appearances – will leave with you!”
Yes, there will have to be some rules. So, I made up those rules, as I do for our pool tournaments!
- The player must have been owned by Lincoln City, not a loan player.
- The player must have played at least 25 matches for the club.
- The player must not be a current squad member.
That is it. I’m going to pick mine over the next day or so, and I’ll be ready for later in the week, but why not have a go yourself?
For the record, you must not pick current players because we’re going for a disappointing XI, and players currently in the squad have yet to write their full Imps story. We want only players whose story appears to have already been written.
I’ve done a little video below to explain as well, but if you want to send a team in, drop me an email, gazhutch88@gmail.com. I can’t guarantee I’ll get to publish all of them, but I’ll do my best!
Keep an eye out later in the week for my picks.
