PNE fans' panel: John Smith sees red with Robbie Brady and the referee

After the late goal and ‘Elation At Ewood’ just before the international break, it was ‘Devastation At Deepdale’ in our first game following it.

Two injury-time goals for the visitors completely turned this game on its head in a most gut-wrenching of home league defeats.

The first half was as tepid as many of our previous encounters against the Bluebirds with a shortage of clear-cut chances at either end.

However had Gavin and Stacey character Nessa Jenkins travelled up from nearby Barry with the away support, she would certainly have been applying her signature catchphrase of ‘what’s occurring?’ while watching the first half’s most noticeable incident.

That saw the referee seeming to take an age before producing only a yellow card for what looked like serious foul play on Ched Evans on the halfway line.

Nessa would also have described the referee’s decision to send off Robbie Brady in the opening minutes of the second half as ‘cracking’ or ‘tidy’.

It proved to be the major factor which ultimately turned the game in the Welsh side’s favour after Milutin Osmajic had given us the lead with what proved the only shot we had on target throughout the whole match.

When we were down to 10 men this game left me feeling like I was having a ride on the Barry Island ghost train as it became a real nerve shredder.

The referee struck me as one who liked to be noticed and his decision to play an incredible amount of injury time was, for me, a major factor in deciding the game’s eventually disappointing outcome.

When the board went up to show nine minutes of injury time, I was a little disgruntled but hopeful that our defensive rearguard – who had battled so well in the 90 minutes – could hold out for a while longer.

However, after the visitors’ equaliser in the sixth minute of injury time, my resentment towards the referee increased into one of a John McEnroe ‘you cannot be serious’ fashion as time went on and on until the second, killer blow, was delivered right at the game’s death.

Although I personally thought that the incompetence of the referee was an important factor in this result, I must also have to question why such an experienced player like Brady could not show what I would call basic discipline – instead of allowing himself to get into the position of seeing a needless red card.

Both of the two yellow card incidents took place on the halfway line and miles away from any danger.

However, his reckless actions ultimately cost us any chance of getting some welcome points from this fixture, which I thought were definitely there for the taking before he was dismissed.