Tenbury United 0 Bartestree: United trio see red in nine-goul rout (From Ludlow Advertiser)

Tenbury United 0 Bartestree: United trio see red in nine-goul rout

10:20am Friday 26th October 2012 in Sport By Ian Morgan

MANAGER Colin Powell admits he could be scratching around for players after three of his leading men were redcarded in the first-half of Saturday’s drubbing.

Mike Foster, Gavin Podmore and Aaron Morris were dismissed by referee Barry Priest in a remarkable opening 45 minutes in the West Midlands League Division Two.

“I have been involved in men’s football since I was 16 and I’ve never played in a game where three lads from the same team were sent off in the first-half,”

said the experienced Powell.

“We have to dust ourselves down and we’ve got a few suspensions coming up now so it’s going to be tricky to field a side,” he said.

United are 10th in the division and travel to struggling Ettingshall Park Farm this Saturday.

Barestree were already 1-0 ahead when play-maker Foster was given his marching orders for an 11th-minute challenge on Tom Davies. And Tenbury were reduced to nine men when Podmore was sent-off for a professional foul in the 42nd minute.

But it got worse for the hosts second later when Aaron Morris was red-carded for a late challenge on the edge of his own box.

Powell said: “I thought Fozzy went for a 50/50 ball and I think it was a yellow card offence – not a red.

“Poddy said he got the got the ball and then took the player down afterwards but the third one with Aaron was a definite red card. He took down the player quite late.”

Mark Langford had a memorable afternoon for Bartestree, scoring four times, while his brother Miles and defender Mark Avery both bagged braces.

Danny Hill also scored for fourth-placed Bartestree, who led just 2-0 at the interval but took full advantage of gaping holes in United defence’s to hit four goals in the final 13 minutes at Palmer’s Meadow.

Tenth-placed Tenbury rarely got out of their half after the break but Nicky Stocker almost reduced the deficit when his 71stminute free-kick rattled the bar.

Powell said: “I think we did quite well to keep the score down to single figures. I told the players to go out in the second-half and have some fun.

“It’s very difficult when you’re three men down. It was a damage limitation job in the second-half.

“We had three-on-one situations at the back at times but I am too long in the tooth to worry too much about these things.”