David McCallum was left furious by the decision to send off goalkeeper Lewis Budinauckas in the first half of Rangers’ 3-1 defeat at home to Celtic in the Lowland League as the Ibrox B team manager took aim at the officials.
A 25-yard thunderbolt from Arron Lyall gave the home side the lead in Govan before the game’s momentum irrevocably shifted when Budinauckas was sent for an early bath.
The goalie rushed forward to claim a long ball played in behind the Rangers defence and was adjudged to have grasped the ball outside his area, denying Celtic a clear goal-scoring opportunity, and referee Greg Soutar flashed the shot-stopper a red card.
Ben Quinn scored on the cusp of half-time to draw the visitors level and they soon took the lead thanks to two goals in quick succession after the break – the first came via Quinn once again, the second through Adam Brooks – before things went from bad to worse for Rangers as Bailey Rice picked up a second yellow card with 20 minutes to go.
READ MORE: Rangers 1-3 Celtic aftermath: Hosts finish game with eight men in B team clash
Remarkably, the hosts would finish the game with just eight players on the park due to Adam Devine’s late dismissal, with the defender being shown a straight red card for an ill-timed lunge.
There is little doubt that Budinauckas’ sending-off acted as the catalyst for Celtic’s comeback and McCallum was unable to hide his frustration at the final whistle.
“It was a ridiculous decision,” McCallum said. “If you are going to make big decisions then you need to get them right.
“It’s clear that the ball is at the very worst over the line – as in on the line – as he catches it and with his next step he takes it inside the box.
“We were excellent up until that point. We were clearly ahead and controlling it with the chances we created and then that changes the game.”
The result means that Celtic leapfrog their rivals in the table to move into second as we near the campaign’s conclusion, and manager Stephen McManus was pleased with his team’s display, even if he conceded they were a little slow out of the traps.
“I felt in the first half we were a wee bit sloppy in possession,” he told Celtic TV. “But as the game wore on I felt we were the dominant side.
“The second-half performance was very professional. We didn’t want to get caught up in anything that was going to happen, whether that was picking up silly bookings or getting a man sent off.
“The most important thing for us was trying to keep our discipline and playing the way we want to play, and I felt that we did that.”
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