United appeal Rowe red card

Ollie Rowe (number 6) makes the tackle for which he was sent-off. Picture courtesy Scott White

The central defender was shown a straight red card for a tackle after 35 minutes of the Bostik League Division One South derby, which Hastings went on to lose 2-1.

Hastings manager Adam Hinshelwood said: “We’ve got video evidence and we’re going to appeal the decision. We’ve seen some footage and I don’t think it was reckless or excessive force. It was a good, committed, strong tackle that you would expect in a local derby.

“I was sat in the stand and initially I thought it was going to be a yellow card. Then their lad stayed down and their players came rushing over a bit, and as soon as he (the referee) has gone to his pocket, I knew it was going to be a red card.

A second look at the tackle a split-second later than the first. Picture courtesy Scott White

“I thought it was a little bit harsh and Ollie said ‘no way was that a red card’. He loves his football, loves being out there, loves playing for the club.”

Unless their appeal is successful, Hastings will be without their most experienced defender for the league games against Phoenix Sports on September 9, Cray Wanderers on September 13 and Thamesmead Town on September 16.

“We’re hopeful with the case we’ve got, we’ll be successful,” added Hinshelwood. “If not, we’ll have to suck it up and it will give other players an opportunity.”

Hinshelwood was disappointed with the overall performance of his team, however, in a meeting of two clubs who went into the game with seven points from a possible nine.

“We didn’t really get going on Monday,” he said. “I thought it was a really lethargic performance even when it was 11 v 11.

“I felt we were gaining a bit of momentum when we got the goal back, and was hopeful we would go on and get better, and get a win, but obviously the sending-off had a big impact. We’ve got to be better.”