Match Reaction: Redcar Athletic 1-2 Boro Rangers

Dave McTiernan offered his take on a frustrating evening at Green Lane.

The assistant boss shared a composed view of a match marred by controversy, admitting the Steelmen had much to learn from another ‘game of two halves.’

Ahead at the break thanks to a tidy finish from makeshift forward Curtis Round, Danny Lofts nodded Boro Rangers level inside three minutes of the restart, much to the frustration of Dave McTiernan.

A series of contentious refereeing decisions soon took the contest beyond the ten man Steelmen, as Stuart Rose turned home seven minutes from time to snatch all three points for the travelling contingent.

REPORT: Steelmen 1-2 Boro Rangers

Three key decisions made up the main talking point of another derby defeat, two horrific challenges punished by merely a yellow card, before Joe Ferguson received his marching orders for a similar offence.

Far from the action in the dugouts, assistant boss Dave McTiernan offered that although the decisions looked ‘harsh,’ the referee had a much better view of all three incidents.

“The red card? I couldn’t really see it from the angle that we were at.” He said.

“It just looked to me like the referee was quick to get his cards out. It was our first tackle.

“Beforehand, there was another couple of tackles (from Boro Rangers). Again, you can’t see them properly from the sidelines, it’s easy to just sit and judge as coaching staff.

“But it looked harsh on Joe.”

An even affair before the dismissal, Dave McTiernan was keen to praise good play where he saw it, but maintained that the squad had to learn from early second half mistakes.

“We had some decent play in the first half,” Dave said. “It was a very tight affair.”

“We got the goal we needed, going in to half time. It gives you that nod ahead.

“We said to the lads at half time, for the first ten minutes, make sure you manage the game correctly, and we conceded in under that.

“Down here at Redcar, it tends to be a game of two halves in many respects.

“It put us on the back foot, and we’ve got to learn fast about these things.”

McTiernan continued, “The conditions do play a part, and the players know this.”

“It’s a case of digging in, and doing the hard side of the game, and unfortunately we came off second best.”