RIVAL managers James Fowler and Mark Warburton were united in criticism of referee Bobby Madden and his fourth official Crawford Allan yesterday over the dismissal of Derek Lyle in the Ladbrokes Championship match between Queen of the South and Rangers at Palmerston. The Ibrox side were already a goal to the good and may have won the match in any case but their task was made significantly easier following the officiating team’s decision to reduce the home side to ten men early in the second period.
After a bust-up with James Tavernier, Lyle then went head-to-head with Ibrox defender Rob Kiernan. While the home striker arguably made more of a headbutting motion than his opponent, both managers were angered by Allan’s intervention to insist that the home striker was dismissed and called for more common sense to be shown on such occasions. No action was taking against Kiernan at the time, while the home side also left nursing a sense of grievance about the concession of two penalties, both of which were converted by Martyn Waghorn.
"It was the fourth official who gave it,” said Fowler. “But if it was aggressive behaviour with Derek standing his ground when a player walks towards him, then I don't know. I would have thought if he had given two yellows then I don't think either player would have had a complaint."
“It was very, very harsh,” said Warburton. “I will speak my mind, although I know you have to be very careful when you speak about match officials. But for me it was a big call right at the start of the second half. I didn’t see anything more than two guys throwing hand-bags at each other. Two yellows or one would maybe have done it. But it’s over now.”
“I just felt if you are going to send one off then you have to send off both, because they were both head to head,” said Queens striker Iain Russell, one of the first on the scene. “I am not saying it would have changed the result but it did make it a lot harder for us.”
In any case, eight wins out of eight for Warburton’s Rangers moved the Ibrox side two points clear at the top of the division and sees the Englishman draw level with some exalted company. He becomes the first Ibrox manager to win his first eight matches in charge since Bill Struth some 95 years ago, no mean feat considering the difficulties of bedding in a number of players. Warburton last night said that all the praise should go to his players.
“It’s great for the players,” said Warburton. “It’s down to their achievements. They’ve come in for pre-season and applied themselves so well from the very first day. The eight wins is down to their efforts and now they’ve got a two-day break that they fully deserve. They will recharge the batteries and come back for next week when we face another tough opponent.”
That side is Raith Rovers, with Rangers having negotiated the availability of players such as Gedion Zelalem as they endeavour to keep their momentum in the Championship table. Captain Lee Wallace was forced to leave the field yesterday with a knee problem although his injury is not thought to be serious. “Lee got an impact injury on the right side of his knee,” said Warburton. “It’s a long season and he is an important player, and our captain. There’s no point taking unnecessary risks.”
The Englishman refused to rule out a late move to strengthen his squad before the transfer window shuts on Tuesday night but downplayed suggestions that Haris Vuckic could return to the club.
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