Horsham YMCA boss blasts 'horrendous decisions' in draw with ten-man Saltdean United

YM led 3-1 at the break, but the Tigers struck back in the second-half with a penalty and a controversial goal that saw boss Buckland sent-off.

The draw sees a stuttering third-placed YMCA fall ten points adrift of table-topping Chichester City.

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Buckland said: “We were 3-0 up in a game playing our best football all season. We then had the most horrendous decisions I have ever witnessed.

“Saltdean got a corner which came off their man. The ball was delivered in and Aaron Jeal goes up to catch the ball and he’s clattered into by a centre-half who makes him drop the ball.

“Then the ball drops to one of their forwards who smashes it against Guy Harding’s hand from a yard away and you cannot, from a yard, get out the way.

“For the third goal, it wasn’t (offside) by a finger it was by five-yards. After that I just lost it.”

The hosts opened the scoring on 15 minutes after Ollie Gill headed home from a corner. YM doubled the lead five minutes later, with Harding nodding home from another cornerYMCA made it three just before the break as Tony Garrod swivelled in the box to finish well.

There was still time for the Tigers to reduce the deficit before half-time as Curtis Gayler struck to make it 3-1.

Three minutes after the restart, Saltdean won a corner. As the ball was played into the box a Tigers player crashed a shot into the arm of Harding, and a penalty was awarded.

YM protested furiously, but the decision stood and Jamie Brotherton stepped up to slot home the spot-kick.

Saltdean found the equaliser on 69 minutes amid some controversy. A ball was played into Bailie Rogers who tucked home but YMCA claimed that Rogers was five-yards offside.

The goal stood and frustration spawned ugly scenes, culminating in Buckland being ordered from the dug out. To compound an incident-laden game, Brotherton saw red for a two-footed lunge on Tony Nwachukwu at the death.

Buckland added: “I said to the lads afterwards I cannot look you in the face and say ‘you idiots you just let a 3-0 lead slip’. The footballing Gods just weren’t with us."

YM travel to Loxwood on Saturday.

Horsham YMCA: Jeal, Hunt, Evans, Gill, Harding, Gedling, Nwachukwu, Dugdale, Garrod, Barbary, Hartley. Unused: Pavlovic, Frankland, Brown, Donaghey, Wadhams.