AIRBUS UK Broughton boss Craig Harrison saw red during his side’s Welsh Cup KO at neighbours Gap Connah’s Quay on Saturday.
A controversial second-half penalty decision turned the third-round tie against the Wingmakers into a 3-2 defeat and Harrison was sent to the stands after having words with the officials. But he was equally angry with what he saw before the break.
“We were terrible in the first half,” blasted Harrison. “That was the worst we’ve played since I’ve been manager – individually, as a group, everything. So I said what I had to say at half-time and there was only one team in it in the second half.
“But one of the major decisions went against us, which was the penalty. It was a bad decision. I shouldn’t have said what I said but it was in the heat of the moment. There’s no excusing it and I will get fined, but when you see it then you think to yourself, ‘that was never a penalty’.
“We were in the ascendancy, they had their backs against the wall, then they got the penalty and scored, which gave them extra momentum to win the game. It was a pivotal point.”
The Wingmakers, who twice equalised through Rhys Roberts and Giovanni Feliciello, will be given an instant chance for revenge, though, when they play host to Nomads tomorrow night in the Welsh Premier League (7.30pm).
Harrison doesn’t believe there are any benefits to last week’s Welsh Cup exit. When asked if the result now frees his team up to concentrate on the league, he said: “It always makes me laugh when I hear that – whether it is just a crazy football quote or whether people actually think that, I don’t.
“I’m actually gutted we’re out and we could concentrate on the league just as much if we were still in the cup. So it’s something people sometimes say as an excuse to paper over the cracks.”
