Bristol City defender Rob Dickie was shown a straight red card in the first half of the Robins’ defeat to Sheffield United at Ashton Gate.
Chris Wilder has addressed Liam Manning’s suggestion that Oliver Langford made a “major error” in Bristol City’s play-off defeat to Sheffield United, with the Blades boss quick to question whether or not the Reds head coach had opted to discuss the two penalty decisions that he felt went the Robins’ way at Bramall Lane.
City kicked off their first play-off campaign in 17 years in disappointing fashion as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wilder’s side on Thursday evening. Goals from Harrison Burrows, Andre Brooks and Callum O’Hare were enough to give United the advantage ahead of the second leg at Bramall Lane on Monday evening.
The opening exchanges at Ashton Gate were incredibly competitive. Tyrese Campbell thought he had given the Blades the lead early on, only for the linesman’s flag to rule the goal out, while Joe Williams rattled the crossbar with a powerful effort from the edge of the penalty area. However, the game was turned on its head when Langford awarded the away side a penalty and showed Rob Dickie a red card for what he adjudged to be a cynical foul on Kieffer Moore.
Manning was left frustrated by the decision in his post-match press conference, even confirming the Reds had raised concerns about the appointment of Langford in the lead-up to the fixture. Although Wilder could understand the emotion behind the City boss’ verdict, he felt the right decision had been made.
“I don’t think he made an attempt to play the ball, he just dragged him back,” the Blades boss explained post-match. “Did he [Manning] mention about the two penalties at our place in the last minute?
“Listen, it’s an emotional game. From our point of view, in the first game, I asked for the observations on two penalties, one on Harrison and they said it’s not a penalty, and they said the second one was, so we had to suffer then dropping two big points, so I understand. Of course, it swings the game in our favour, but there’s still a job to do.
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