ROBBIE RAGES AT ‘UNFIT’ REF
ROBBIE Neilson accused referee Charles Breakspear of being ‘out of condition’ after the MK Dons boss saw his side reduced to nine men before holding on to beat Peterborough.
Chuks Aneke bagged his seventh goal of the season either side of Joe Walsh’s dismissal for a last-ditch challenge on nine minutes and Osman Sow’s straight red ten minutes before the break, for an alleged high-footed challenge.
Neilson was also sent to the stands at half time and watched his resilient side record their first league win in eight games and end Posh’s hopes of recording their fourth straight league success as they looked to consolidate their place in the play-offs.
“I think this result shows the spirit of the club,” said Neilson. “It showed that the players are still fighting and are desperate to do well, and they showed what the spirit of this football club is all about.
“I spoke to the referee at half time and I told him that I didn’t think he was in the correct condition to referee a football match, which I still stand by.
“If you’re willing to accept money to referee you have a responsibility to maintain a fitness level, and I don’t think he has done that.”
MK were up in arms after just nine minutes when a long ball forward from the visitors sent frontman Jack Marriott in behind the MK defence before Walsh was deemed to have bundled the striker down in a last-ditch challenge on the edge of the Dons box, leading referee Breakspear to show MK their first red card of the day.
And despite being a man light, Dons took a deserved lead on 27 minutes when Aneke unleashed a powerful drive from the edge of the Peterborough box that wrong-footed Posh keeper Jonathan Bond and found the net.
But the Dons felt aggrieved again ten minutes before the break when Sow was also shown a straight red card for an alleged high-footed challenge on Ryan Tafazolli to leave MK down to nine men with almost an hour left to play.
And although Marcus Maddison smashed the Dons crossbar late on, the visitors couldn’t break down an almighty effort by the nine men of MK, who held out.
“We lacked any sort of intensity in our play – we weren’t good enough and we got what we deserved,” said Posh boss Grant McCann.
“I think a few of them thought they could take their foot off the gas when they went down to ten men – definitely when they went down to nine – so it’s really disappointing to lose in that manner.
“We didn’t test the keeper at all, we didn’t get enough crosses into their box – we just didn’t do what we had planned to do. “It’s nothing to do with attitude – we’ll take it on
the chin.”