Has there ever been a more controversial Central League football match than the one that saw Petone upset Keinzley Agvet Wairarapa United 4-3 at Petone on Saturday? Probably not.
Wairarapa United were down to eight players when Petone netted their fourth, and most important, goal with time almost up. In fact, they played three men short for the last 15 minutes after Aaron Spierling, Nathan Cooksley and Fidell Richards were given their marching orders in separate second-half incidents, the latter two for picking up their second yellow cards.
Publicly criticising the referee is a dangerous practice at this level because it invariably rebounds badly on those who do it, so the Wairarapa United camp were keeping their thoughts pretty much to themselves, but some of the rulings on the field clearly puzzled them.
Perhaps none more so than the sending-off of Spierling, who, from many accounts, did not seem guilty of any offence worth punishment of that magnitude.
At the same time, however, it is a safe bet that coach Paul Ifill will have some harsh words to say to his squad about the need to maintain discipline, even in the most trying circumstances.
