OXFORD City general manager Justin Merritt criticised referee Nigel Lugg’s decision to send off Alejandro-Adrian Santiago in their second round replay defeat at Woking on Tuesday, writes MATTHEW BRUCE.

City led 1-0 at the time, but went on to lose 2-1 after playing for an hour with ten men following the decision to dismiss the defender for a tug on striker Dean Morgan.

“I thought it was a really poor decision,” said Merritt.

“He was actually going away from goal, there were a lot of players surrounding him as well, it’s not like he was pulling through and it was a one-on-one.

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“To then get the hammer blow of their lad putting it in the top corner as well, it was a case of when it rains it pours.”

Santiago’s sending off left an already makeshift backline under real strain, with attacker Lewis Wilson and midfielder Darren Pond forming an impromptu centre back pairing.

But Merritt praised their efforts following a defiant stand.

He said: “There’s not too many appearances at centre half between the two of them, but that shows the true character of both players.

“They did an amazing job.

“Yes, we rode our luck at times a little bit, but we deserved that for all the hard work, effort and energy.

“It's just a bit disappointing that on the few breaks we actually had we just lacked that little bit of quality to find that winning goal or an equaliser.”

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