Magpies Pay The Price, En Mass!

MAIDENHEAD United crashed out of the FA Cup in a tie which turned on the controversial sending off of captain Alan Massey.

- Dan Darlington

The Magpies looked like pulling off the biggest shock of the day when Jake Cassidy’s fine solo effort put them ahead on 25 minutes.

But the National League side were left reeling eight minutes into the second half when Massey was shown a straight red card by referee Ollie Yates for a sliding challenge on Ben Wiles.

Magpies boss Alan Devonshire said the decision “killed the game”. And so it proved as the League One Millers strode home thereafter with three goals in the space of just nine minutes from Michael Ihiekwe, Freddie Ladapo and Matt Crooks, which saw the Millers comfortably home into round two.

“I haven’t seen the red card but four or five others have, including Alan Massey, and he hasn’t touched him,” moaned Devonshire. “[The referee] made his mind up straight away without even knowing. He tried to say it was two-footed, it definitely wasn’t two-footed. And it’s absolutely killed us.

“It was a good game of football and he’s totally ruined it by seeing something no one else saw.”