‘Spoiled the game’: Lincoln City boss Mark Kennedy’s view on Bristol Rovers red card

Lincoln City manager Mark Kennedy has said that the dismissal of Bristol Rovers striker Ryan Loft 'spoiled the game' as his side ground out a 1-0 victory.

The Gas fell behind to a Regan Poole headed effort in the 14th minute, and to make matters worse, Loft was dismissed by the referee three minutes before the half-time whistle. Rovers had to go a man light for the entirety of the second-half and it made it difficult to mount a comeback.

Ryan Loft challenged for the ball with Imps goalkeeper Ryan Loft, and was adjudged to have fouled the goalkeeper, and after consultation between referee and linesman, decided that a red card was the most appropriate action. It was a major blow, for a team currently out of form and already chasing the match.

Despite holding a man advantage however, Kennedy, whose side profited from the decision, believed it had a detrimental effect on the game. Rovers changed their game-plan as they sought a response.

“Unfortunately, I thought it spoiled the game for us," said Kennedy to LincolnshireLive. "I thought it had a negative impact on how we were playing.

"I think the game would’ve suited us better with 11, which might sound strange, but the way the game panned out it was quite fractured."

It was a relatively tightly-contested game and a statistical look at the match saw Lincoln have 20 shots with nine landing on target, and Rovers with 11, with four ending up against Rushworth. Rovers with a man light and away from home had to concede more possession, and had 44% of the ball, but only played 71 fewer passes than their opponents.

At half-time, Barton made two changes with Luke McCormick and Josh Coburn making way for Harry Anderson and Scott Sinclair, which would push Aaron Collins into the centre. Lamare Bogarde and John Marquis both then came on with 15 minutes remaining, but they were ultimately unsuccessful in their pursuit of an equaliser.

Kennedy added: “Joey made a lot of changes, and they completely went for it at the end. Fair play to Joey, he caused us a lot of problems with how he changed things.

"They didn’t sit back, they went for it. It was quite direct from them, which is fine, I get that, I’ve done that myself. But yeah, I think it spoiled the game.”

Rovers' next challenge is up against promotion-chasing Ipswich Town at the Memorial Stadium. They are without a win in five matches, and have not won since January 8, which was an away win against Cambridge United.