CRAIG Edwards had hit out at AFC Hornchurch's 'ridiculous' tactics during Billericay Town's 1-0 league defeat on Saturday.
The Blues' manager felt the Urchins playacted their way through much of the fixture and was left infuriated with referee Carl Fitch who sent off both his assistant manager Kevin Ramsey and forward Joe Benjamin during an ill-tempered derby clash.
"It was a dreadful game," he summarised. "They came to do the job they had to do.
"They came with six centre halves and I don't think they passed the ball once in the game but fair play to them they stifled us."
Edwards was particularly disappointed with the sendings off and claimed his assistant was spat at by one of the opposition players and it was that which led to an angry verbal reaction.
"One of their players spat at him and he's got extremely irate about it," he said. "We copped a load of abuse and then he's done that. It's just filth. The linesman's seen it and done nothing.
"You don't want to blame referees but considering they're a team with a manager who was a centre half (Jimmy McFarlane), who I've got a lot of respect for, how they were rolling around every time there was a challenge in was unbelievable – it was ridiculous."
He also felt hard done by that Benjamin, on as a late substitute, was given a straight red for a tackle from behind and thinks the opposition should have had a couple sent off themselves.
"There was one blatant elbow right in front of me and a dreadful two-footed tackle that went unpunished," said Edwards. "His (the referee's) justification for not sending them off was because my players didn't complain. So I said: 'what we've got to do is what they did? That's every time a challenge went in roll around and try and get people sent off? It's just not right, is it?"
On Benjamin who was deemed to have fouled match-winner Tambeson Eyong in the 71st minute, Edwards said: "He's played the ball and he's hardly touched the player at all.
"The player has rolled around for five minutes got up, there's nothing wrong with him at all. I don't see how you can roll around like you've been shot and then you're up running around like nothing's happened."
The game marked a Blues debut for goalkeeper Sam Beasant, the son of former FA Cup winner Dave, who has signed permanently from Woking.
Edwards said: "He's trained really well and the goalkeeping coach has said he's superb technically, he's 6ft 5ins tall and he's got all the attributes. So that's our problem solved, we've signed him on a contract and he's not going anywhere." He replaces Nathan McDonald who returns to Braintree Town after a month's loan.
"We could have lost him on the morning of a game and that situation wasn't acceptable to us," explained Edwards.
"Nathan loved his time here and was gutted to go but at the end of the day I've got to do what's right for the club."
Yesterday (Tuesday) Town were due to take on Chelmsford City in the big New Year's Day derby and after the reverse Boxing Day fixture fell to the elements this will be Edwards' first chance to get one over his old employers.
"We've got different agendas and they'll be favourites" he said. "This season we're looking to consolidate and for them I'd imagine anything but winning the league would be a disappointment."
