Shiels angry with officials over early red card

Kenny Shiels was left “seething” following Friday night's 0-0draw with Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park after two bookings inside nine minutes for Derry City midfielder Conor McCormack forced the Candystripes to play with ten men for over an hour.

In what proved to be the game's only major talking point, McCormack received his first yellow card on 19 minutes for simulation after he went down in the Galway penalty area under a challenge from Paul Sinnott.

By the 28^th minute Derry were a player down as the former Shamrock Rovers and St. Patrick's Athletic man earned his second caution and a subsequent red card for a foul on Marc Ludden.

Speaking to Extratime.ie's Terry Flaherty afterwards, Shiels couldn't contain his frustration with referee James McKell.

“It was a really poor decision, it was two poor decisions, you know, and he couldn't wait,” said Shiels.

“I don't know was it [a foul]. I don't know what it looked like from where you were, but let's say it was even a foul, was it a foul justifying a second yellow? He knew, because he brought it out and he brought the arm out, he was really eager to be in charge and show his authority.

“Was it a real bad foul? Definitely not. Was there many fouls in the game? Maybe from their two full-backs, they had quite a few. If you measure that one [the McCormack foul] against theirs then they should have had two sent off, and I wouldn't want that. But I want fair play.

“I don't think the referee, I thought he was way below the standard you would expect for this type of football.”

The two dropped points left Derry in fourth place, level on points and goal-difference but below Shamrock Rovers in the Premier Division table going into the mid-season break. Given how open this game was in its first 15 minutes, Shiels was unequivocal when asked if he felt the red card ruined it as a spectacle.

“It ruined the football and people pay decent money to come and watch the sport that they have a passion for, and one person ruins it. That can't be, that shouldn't be the case,” said the Maghera native.

“How can he ruin a game of football? Whether who wins is not the most important thing, it's depriving people of the quality of the game. We had to rejig our team totally and we couldn't put up an adventurous performance where people can get off their seats and see some quality, and it restricted everything.

“It probably affected them [Galway] because it's hard sometimes to play against ten men, you know?” added Shiels.

“I just can't believe...I'm still seething with him, why did he make these stupid decisions? I can't understand it.”

Derry had already been forced into their first substitution of the game by the time McCormack received his marching orders, with Lukas Schubert going off injured to be replaced by Keith Ward in the 25^th minute.

Ten minutes later, top scorer Rory Patterson had to be removed for Conor McDermott and Derry ended up with three teenagers and the attack-minded Ward in midfield.

Shiels was “delighted” with how the younger players coped in such trying circumstances, and acknowledged that his opposite number Tommy Dunne would have been disappointed that Galway couldn't take all three points.

“We could have won it, you know, and it wouldn't have been fair on Galway if we'd won it but it certainly wouldn't have been fair on us if the sending off would have cost us three points,” he added.

However, when asked if he was happy with a point, the former Kilmarnock manager ultimately came back to the performance of Tipperary man McKell, who has refereed in the League of Ireland since 2008.

“Yeah, I am. I am and I'm not," said Shiels. "But I just still can't come to terms with why someone would officiate a game in that manner to send someone off, and it's happening regularly in this league, they have to back off a wee bit."

When it was put to Shiels that refereeing performances at Eamonn Deacy Park had been unsatisfactory for the three previous home games, the 60 year old replied: "I know, I know, and it's went against you twice, I understand and sympathize with that, but it's just the way it is, you know?

"If we're honest, it's ineptitude, it really is. They have to do something about it because all this money that's going to the FAI for bookings and sending offs and things, I'm sure it doesn't have an influence on it, but...I don't know."