Ten-man Jersey Bulls impress in 1-1 Badshot Lea draw

Lorne Bickley took his tally to 27 goals for the season having scored in three successive matches

Jersey Bulls manager Gary Freeman praised his side after they drew with 1-1 with 10 men against fellow Combined Counties Premier League South high-fliers Badshot Lea.

Fraser Barlow was sent off for violent conduct after 14 minutes.

Lorne Bickley gave Bulls a 53rd-minute lead, but Badshot levelled through a Mal Thomas goal 10 minutes later.

The draw means Bulls remain third in the table, a point behind Badshot Lea, who have a game in hand.

Leaders Raynes Park Vale are eight points clear at the top, although they have played one more games than Bulls and two more than Badshot.

"Going down to 10 men is always going to be tough, but to go down so early we knew we were going to be up against it," Freeman told BBC Radio Jersey.

"But I thought we were great, we created two or three good chances.

"Lorne scored a brilliant goal, on another day he might have got another one or two, he had some good chances and we restricted them to very little.

"I'm a little disappointed because I don't think they did a lot to earn their goal, but 1-1, we'll take it with 10 men for that long, but I thought we deserved to win it."

Barlow's red card after a tussle with an opponent hampered Bulls' chances - a decision which Freeman said his player was unhappy about.

"The referee says he's lead with his elbow, Fraser swears he pushed him two-handed," he added.

"It is a tough one, I think in a game like this, two teams at the top of the league, the referee needs to be sure and whether there's a bit of guesswork in there I don't know. I'm not 100% sure he saw a real elbow go in there.

"But he's given it, but credit to our lot, it was a brilliant reaction to it."