Casey red card in St Joseph's loss 'harsh' - Magilton

Casey was dismissed for two bookable offences

Cliftonville boss Jim Magilton said the decision to send Odhran Casey off in their Conference League defeat by St Joseph's was "harsh".

The Reds defender was dismissed for two yellow card offences, with the game finely poised at 1-1, the second of which for a tackle on Alvaro Rey when he appeared to win the ball.

St Joseph's went on to win the game at Solitude 3-2 to progress 5-4 on aggregate to the second qualifying round, but Magilton believes Casey's red card changed the game.

"Odhran jumped into the tackle, he's won the ball and if it's our league it's not even a yellow card," he told BBC Sport.

"He was aggressive and I thought it was harsh. The referee is one who hands out red cards in European games so it's a disappointing.

"If it is 11 v 11, I fancy our chances, we showed real quality in our play Michael [Glynn] scored a great goal and I felt it was inevitable that we would go on to win."

Magilton praised his side's "resilience and character" when they went down to 10-men but was left frustrated they were unable to find a route back into the game after Hugo Jesslen scored what proved to be the winner two minutes into extra time.

"The players deserve so much credit, and I was immense my proud of their performance," he added.

"It was always going to be difficult with them having a numerical advantage, but I thought we were still in the game, and we still tried to create opportunities and be brave on the ball.

"I'm bitterly disappointed, to be gallant losers means nothing to us. It's a harsh lesson at this level as I don't think they're a great side."