PORT FC fought hard with 10 men on Saturday but came up short against Forster Tuncurry Tigers at Tuffins Lane.
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The early dismissal of Aaron Grose was a major setback for the host side, who went down 2-1 in the Football Mid North Coast Premier League match.
The team rallied in Grose’s absence, after he was shown a red card for dissent in the first five minutes. Grose took exception when the referee asked him to leave the field and remove his compression underwear, as it didn’t match the white shorts.
While it meant the Tigers had a one-man advantage for the rest of the match, FC still defended well.
The hosts took the lead at the start of the second half, thanks to a Sam Wilson shot which took a deflection and looped into the net.
Adam Howell produced a great free kick which was tipped onto the post by the Tigers’ keeper.
At the other end of the park, FC’s shot-stopper Oscar Brotherston made a series of fantastic saves which kept his team’s slender lead intact.
The highlights were two reaction saves, one with a hand and the other a foot, to keep the ball out of the goal.
They earnt him man of the match honours for the second consecutive week.
The Tigers knocked on the door constantly, and eventually, it opened. Their goals came within 15 minutes of each other and they were enough to get them all three points.
The Blue Boys had their chances to equalise in the closing stages, and bodies went on the line in search of an equaliser.
Ben Foulis copped a couple of head knocks after some nasty collisions while attacking high crosses.
One was friendly fire when Foulis clashed heads with birthday boy Tom Salter.
The other, more serious incident was from the last kick of the game. Foulis was left bleeding from a brutal headclash from a Tigers defender.
Brotherston was disappointed his team didn’t get the points.
“We weren’t outplayed as a team,” he said.
“I thought our side matched theirs on the park.”
Grose’s red card cost the team dearly.
“Yet again we were let down by being a man short for large parts of the match,” Brotherston said.
FC will take on the winless Port Saints next weekend. Saints lost 2-0 to Macleay Valley Rangers on Saturday.
