MANAGER Matty Holmes was left frustrated by two crucial refereeing decisions after Wimborne had been pegged back in dramatic fashion by Bideford.

Holmes was unhappy with Mark Chaplin’s decision to send off midfielder James Stokoe in the second half during the 2-2 draw at Cuthbury.

He was also baffled by the amount of added time, which allowed the Robins to find a late leveller through substitute Kevin Squire.

Holmes told the Daily Echo: “It was a real battle I felt we deserved to win, even with 10 men.

“What disappointed us more than anything was the referee played more than 50 minutes for the second half. It was incredible.

“We were screaming at the referee saying ‘how long do you want to add on?’ and he was just ignoring us. I had 47 minutes on my watch and he still didn’t let us know.

“Where the referee got that time from, I don’t think anyone in the stadium knew.”

Magpies took the lead on 17 minutes through Lee Francis after he was teed up by Toby Holmes.

Despite Stokoe being sent off for an alleged stamp early in the second period, Wimborne doubled their advantage through striker Holmes 13 minutes from time.

But a goal from Ben Seymour put the Devon-based visitors back into the clash before Squire netted in dramatic fashion in the sixth minute of added time.

He converted after latching on to a header from Bideford goalkeeper Steve Oliver, who had advanced forward to attack the final corner of the game.

Asked about the sending off, Holmes said: “We were disappointed with the decision.

“Stokesy went up for a header but their player climbed over him and fell over. The referee blew for a free-kick to us and I think Stokesy went backwards and caught the lad.

“The referee said it was a stamp. He did stand on him but it wasn’t actually a stamp in motion. We feel he was wrong on that. The lad was rolling around in absolute agony as though he had been shot.

“He was clever and was back on the pitch in a minute running around like a headless chicken. Bideford were quite professional and there was a bit of gamesmanship. Unfortunately, Stokesy fell for it.”

The point left Magpies 10th in Southern League West, two points behind Bideford.

“I was gutted for the boys really because, to a man, they were superb,” added Holmes. “We did the game plan wonderfully. Bideford are a tough, wily old side and were horrible to play against, not in a disrespectful way, but they worked hard and got in our faces.

“We were excellent, we defended well at times, blocked shots and showed great quality going forward.”

Magpies: Benfield, Penny, Cole (Arnold, 69), Oldring, Maybury, Kellaway, Stokoe, Francis, T Holmes, Burbidge, Lovell. Unused subs: Davidson, Kendall, Okumu, Walsh (g/k).