Phil Neville’s dismay at Jack Rodwell’s derby red card

Oct 3 2011 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo

EVERTON skipper Phil Neville insisted that Jack Rodwell’s red card cost Everton the 216th Merseyside derby.

“It’s disappointing with two teams both fighting for local pride,” said Neville. “But a sending off has cost us the game.

“I don’t think it was a sending off, it was a bad decision but we all have bad days – we all play badly, but today we don’t think we got the rub of the green with decisions.

“Up until the sending off we were on the front foot, we were just shading it but that was the turning point in the game.

“It was just a poor decision. I don’t want to have a go at referees because they have an unbelievably tough job and he doesn’t need me telling him that he was poor but it’s a bitter pill to swallow because we lost the game in the manner that we did.”