'The whole stadium saw what happened' - Ervin on red card

Stephen O'Donnell was sent off for a handball that was committed by Ben Kennedy

Ballymena United manager Jim Ervin refused to comment on the wrongful dismissal of Stephen O'Donnell in his side's eventful 3-2 defeat against Cliftonville at Solitude.

The Reds fought back to lead 2-1 midway through the second half and were then awarded a penalty after a handball in the box by Ben Kennedy.

In a case of mistaken identity, referee Louise Thompson showed a second yellow card to O'Donnell, but Ervin did not believe it ultimately contributed to the Sky Blues' late defeat as they fought back to level before Jack Keaney scored a late free-kick to win it for the Reds.

"I think the whole stadium saw what happened, so I have no more to say on the matter," he told BBC Sport NI.

"The one thing I would say is it didn't cost us the game, they miss the penalty, and we get it back to 2-2 so I'd rather not talk about it."

Ervin was delighted with his side's first-half display, with a Michael Glynn own goal giving them a half-time lead at Solitude.

He was then however, frustrated with their defending for Ademayo Fapetu's equaliser and O'Donnell's own goal which put the hosts in front as well as the concession of the free-kick Keaney scored from.

"I thought first half we were outstanding, the game plan worked. We went in 1-0 up but we knew we would get a reaction second half, we spoke about but within 10 minutes we were 2-1 down," he added.

"It's not good enough, we don't stop the crosses, and we don't defend our box. You can't use the excuse it was young boys, there was plenty of experience in our back four.

"We don't need to give the free-kick away but it is what it is, we have lost the game. We worked desperately hard to get it back to 2-2 and if we got a point, it would have been deserved. To lose it the way we have, it is gutting and hard to take."