Brabin proud of his side as Trophy semi-final remains in the balance

After Jake Howells was sent off in the 13th minute for a handball on the goal-line, which saw the penalty converted by Jason Reed, midfielder Keith Keane also saw red on 55 minutes for his second yellow in quick succession.

But try as they might, City couldn’t break down a superb Town rearguard, leaving the tie evenly poised for Saturday’s second leg.

Brabin said: “We’re still in the tie. That’s the big thing for us.

“Once the decision has gone against us and we’re down to nine men, we not only shown a spirited performance, but the tie is still alive. We take them to our place and can get back into the game.”

The boss was clearly unhappy with referee Paul Tierney’s performance as he continued: “I’m proud of all the lads with the way they’ve performed from minute one.

“We played nine against 12, sorry 11 and I’m proud of all the lads.

“We keep wanting a little bit of consistency and I and feel like everyone’s right on the button when it comes to us and some of the decisions are going against us.”

At the final whistle, while the Town players were given a fine ovation by the 450 plus travelling fans, there was the odd boo from the home supporters, clearly disgruntled with their side for not capitalising on their numerical superiority.

Flabbergasted Minsterman boss Gary Mills added: “We’ve worked hard and got a one nil lead in the semi-final and we’re getting booed.

“If I put nine men behind the ball in a training session on Monday, we’ll see how many times we score.

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Fair play to them. They’ve defended well.

“We could have done better in situations, of course we know that but to get booed is beyond me.”

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