SOCCER - North Force looking for payback after send-off drama

A fiery 4-1 Chatham Cup football loss that saw star North Force player Scott Burgess and goal scorer Mark Ruddell sent off on Monday has set up a classic return fixture against Hibiscus Coast at Kamo on Saturday.
Burgess is facing a two-match ban after he was red carded for "retaliation",' but Ruddell will not face any further punishment after his send off was "rescinded" by the match referee on Saturday.
But North Force captain Bruce Plunkett is sure his team will be fired up for a rare chance to get some payback on Hibiscus Coast in a critical league fixture.
"It was 1-all at halftime, we were playing really well, which was a nice change because we have not been playing well at all recently, then it all went tits up in the second half," Plunkett said.
"Two lads get sent off and we had a referee who seemed to be way out of his depth running around flashing cards everywhere and then coming up to us and saying, `sorry that was a mistake I should never have sent your guy (Ruddell) off' afterwards," he said.
"But it was too late then, we played 20 minutes with nine men, which made things just a bit more challenging."
While Monday's loss ends their Chatham Cup dreams, the performance did enough to reignite their flagging league campaign, which is about to reach a critical point. North Force currently sit third on the table and are hoping they can hold a spot in the top four for the play-offs. There are seven more games to go before the play-offs begin. Hibiscus Coast are their biggest threat, sitting fourth.
"I would think there will be lots of fun and games on Saturday. We have home ground advantage this time at Kamo," he said.
On Monday, Burgess and Ruddell were in good form, spearheading much of the attack and the entire North Force unit operating well despite the pressure from an organised opposition defence.
After conceding the first goal, Ruddell hammered home the equaliser just before the break.
But emotions boiled over in the second half, Burgess reacting to an incident to earn the wrath of the referee. Shortly after that Ruddell was marched after a confusing scene on the pitch, a send off that the referee later apologised for.