Tommy Barrett: 'The referee made it about himself unfortunately'

Tommy Barrett was left a frustrated figure on the back of a fourth consecutive defeat and a questionable officiating performance as his Treaty United side suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Athlone Town in the First Division on Bank Holiday Monday.

In a game that saw nine yellow cards and two reds, even Barrett found himself in the referee Alan Patchell's book. Evan O’Connor received his marching orders midway through the second half.

The Shannonsiders were also denied what looked like a certain penalty when Byrne was bundled over in Athlone's box (see full match report here).

“The referee made it about himself unfortunately,” said Barrett after the match. “I didn’t think there was much in the game but I am frustrated because it should be about the players, it shouldn’t be about the ref.

“I was booked for questioning the ref, a minute later our lads made a foul and he told one of our players to ‘get the f over here’, so it’s about him. I just don’t get it.”

Treaty’s loss has extended their winless run to nine whilst they are now scoreless in over 270 minutes of football. They will take on play-off chasing Wexford on Friday in a bid to end the hapless form.

“Wexford are a good side with a lot of full-time players who well able to grind out results but they’re conceding a lot of goals,” said Barrett., “We haven’t conceded too many and have a good defensive record so if we can keep a clean sheet we’ve got a good chance 

“We’re well in games but we need to cut out the silly mistakes and concentrate on putting the ball in the net.”

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— extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) May 8, 2024