Ford pinning hopes on Westbrook getting off

The Puritans are already missing Lee Henderson, who will serve the second of his two-match suspension in Saturday’s BetVictor Southern League clash, and will also be without Westbrook if their appeal is not successful.

Westbrook got a straight red card on Saturday for pulling back Coalville Town’s Kairo Mitchell but it looked a harsh decision and even more so in the video footage.

Ford said: “We’re appealing because it was barely a free-kick and to get a straight red card was very harsh. If it was in the box, they would get a penalty and Jack [Westbrook] would stay on the pitch with just a caution.

“The referee took an age to make up his mind which meant he was clearly undecided and if you aren’t sure then you can’t send him off. Their player, who got the equaliser, could easily have been sat in the stands after his foul in the first half but he only got a caution when again the referee took a long time to make his decision.

“It was frustrating the North Leigh game was off in midweek as it means Lee Henderson will miss Saturday’s game and the following week’s at Stourbridge.”