Opposition view: Lincoln boss praises referee's performance in win over Cobblers
Lincoln City manager Michael Skubala praised the ‘excellent’ performance of referee Kirsty Dowie after his side’s 4-0 win over 10-man Northampton on Tuesday.
Goals from Ryan Oné, Jack Moylan, Ivan Varfolomeev and Rob Street moved high-flying Lincoln eight points clear of third-placed Bolton Wanderers and left Cobblers teetering just a point above the drop zone.
Whilst Lincoln fully deserved all three points and no-one would argue otherwise, there was a contentious moment early in the second half when Jack Vale saw red for a supposedly dangerous challenge on Ben House, a decision that left Kevin Nolan incandescent.
When asked about the red card, Skubala said: “I’ve not seen it but all I can go off is the reaction. Our players are going mad, their players are going to the ref telling her not to do it and when you see so many reactions from so many players, you think there’s something in it.
"I’m not sure because I haven’t seen it but the reaction of the players gives you a big hint and I thought the referee was excellent. She made some really big decisions and I thought she made the right decision on the red card going by the reactions.”
Reflecting on the game itself, Skubala added: “It was amazing from start to finish. We knew it would be a tough game and they made it difficult for us when they had 11 on the pitch but we got on top of them and there were some great individual performances.
"I felt we should have had two in the first half, that would have been fairer at half-time, but we looked dominant in the second half and we just blew them away after the sending off.”