WREXHAM and Wales under-21 defender Craig Morgan has been left mystified by a red card which has ruled him out of a prestigious clash with England.

The Uefa U21 Championship qualifier at Neusiedl Am See, which Wales were unfortunate to lose 2-0 on Tuesday, was a torrid affair at times, poorly refereed by Armenian Ararat Tchagharyan.

He missed two blatant penalties for fouls on Oxford youngster Craig Davies, but showed a red card to Morgan for a mid-air challenge that was mild in comparison with much of the rough stuff being meted out by the hosts.

Morgan will now miss the next three games against England, Poland and Germany in the group.

Morgan said: "I still don't know what I got the red card for, it's the first time I have been sent off for Wales and the referee didn't even speak a word of English to be able to tell me what it was for.

"I jumped for the ball and we collided, that is about it. It was very unfortunate because we were doing really well in the match at that point."

Former Wrexham and now Welsh U21 boss Brian Flynn added: "When Morgan was sent off we had to change things and it was unfortunate we couldn't get the goal we needed to really spark us.

"I actually didn't see what Morgan was sent off for but I've known him for years and he is an honest boy. I will talk to him later about it."

Roman Kienast scored early on and Jurgen Samuel near the end when Wales were down to 10 men, but had it not been for a fine display from Austrian keeper Ramazan Ozcan, the Welsh would surely have got something from the game.

Boss Flynn added: "There were lots of encouraging things, lots of ability and another small step for us.

"But that is how it will be until the qualifiers for the 2008 European Championship start, then we will see how far we have climbed up the ladder."