Arbroath assistant manager Ian Campbell insists it’s ‘a mystery’ how his side’s clash with Ayr United went ahead.
Campbell watched on as a battling Lichties side earned a 2-2 draw at Somerset Park to bolster their survival hopes.
‘Pink’ was far from pleased with some of the decisions, with his brother Dick sent to the stands in the aftermath of a controversial penalty award.
Ayr took the lead from the spot after referee Craig Napier determined David Gold’s challenge on Jayden Mitchell-Lawson was a foul.
Bizarrely, that had to be re-spotted SIX TIMES – with home boss Lee Bullen later admitting he feared the game was about to be called off due to wind.
“The conditions were really bad,” said Campbell.
“I’ve not seen it as bad as this for a long time.
“The game was just a lottery. How the referee started the game and then allowed it to continue is a bit of a mystery.
“I’m a guy who likes to see good football and it was hard to get that out there.
“The penalty was a joke. It was right in front of the home fans and their player jumped higher than Night Nurse and got the decision.
“But that’s the way it is. In my life I’ve never really criticised officials and I’ll keep my opinions to myself.”
Ayr manager Lee Bullen said: “I thought they brought the wind machine down with them from Arbroath.
“I’ve played in worse in the old days but I did think the referee was about to call it at our penalty.
“Our player had to re-spot it so many times I was about to shout over to him.
“I wanted to say: ‘You better get it to stop or the ref will call this off.'”
Ian Campbell: I knew Sean Adarkwa would score
Arbroath battled back from a goal down to go 2-1 up with strikes from Sean Adarkwa and Yasin Ben El-Mhanni.
And despite Sean McGinty’s late leveller, this was a positive afternoon’s work by the Angus side.
Campbell added: “We showed a bit of character to come back.
“I thought we would kick on at 2-1 but we lost a goal. It’s disappointing but there’s a lot to build on from this.
“Sean’s got his first goal. I knew he’d score today and he will score a lot more if we can get up the park to support him.
“He doesn’t give defenders a minute’s peace and has a trick or two up his sleeve.”
