Workington Reds’ top scorer Steven Rigg will miss the next three league games after his sending off in the side’s disappointing 2-1 defeat at Basford United.
The centre forward was shown a red card in the 72nd minute with Workington ahead at the time.
Rigg was involved in an aerial challenge with Jamie Williamson and caught the Basford defender with a raised elbow.
Reds boss, Mark Fell, begrudgingly accepted that the decision was probably right but vented his anger at Walsall referee, Alex Rolfe, who had let a similar incident go unpunished earlier.
Williamson had poleaxed Rigg in an identical situation but the Basford player wasn’t penalised.
And to compound Reds’ – and Fell’s – frustration it was Williamson who headed Basford’s 82nd minute equaliser.
Workington had taken the lead inside the first quarter of an hour when Connor Pani volleyed home a superb goal after David Symington’s measured cross found him at the far post.
Symington was denied a second soon after when Saul Deeney tipped his goal-bound shot over the bar.
Reds held on to their slender lead for over an hour but, after being in control, lost their grip in the second half.
Even before Rigg’s dismissal there were signs of a second-half recovery from the relegation-threatened hosts and the comeback was completed in the third minute of added time.
Basford won possession in their own half and Daniel Adiefeh’s diagonal pass found Rhys Sharpe in acres of space on the left flank.
His low cross into the area was neatly side-footed into the net by home substitute, Brad Gascoigne, for the late, late winner.
Eighteen points have slipped from their grasp from a winning position this season and this latest setback was avoidable.
It leaves Reds just four points above the drop zone with another bottom four opponent, Mickleover, next week’s visitors to Borough Park.
