BAFFLED interim boss John Snape was “absolutely astonished” FC Halifax Town did not get a player sent-off in their 2-1 victory over 10-man Worcester City.

After a promising first half showing from City, two goals in the space of five minutes from Matty Kosylo and Tom Denton put Halifax in control.

Worcester then suffered a further set-back on 62 minutes when Tyler Weir received a second yellow card immediately after reducing the deficit from the spot.

But Snape was convinced Halifax should have gone a man down when Jordan Keane was brought down in the box.

“It was a penalty, but I don’t know how the lad has stayed on – it is a refereeing decision that still baffles me,” he said.

“Tyler gets himself sent off for trying to retrieve the ball out of the goal when the goalkeeper is blocking him off.

“But I can’t understand how we have got one of our players sent off and three of theirs have stayed on for a handball and two blatant obstructions.”

Weir will now miss City’s trip to bottom club Altrincham on Saturday and Snape admitted it was a “silly sending off”.

“The goalkeeper has stopped him from getting the ball out of the net, so he has given him a shove to get the ball to get us the kick-off,” Snape explained.

“His first booking was silly, but his second was even sillier which is disappointing.

“It was a silly sending off, but I am still amazed that we had 10 on the pitch and they had a 11.

“I find that absolutely astonishing.”

However, Snape refused to use it as an excuse for the defeat, which sees City drop into the relegation zone and extend their winless streak to 13 matches.

He praised the “energy” and “desire” his side showed, but he was disappointing with the goals they conceded.

Kosylo pounced on a defensive mix-up involving Keane, Weir and Ethan Ross to open the scoring three minutes after the break.

Denton, who made an impact when he came off the bench at half-time, doubled their lead moments later when his header went in off the bar.

“It was a solid performance in the first half,” he said.

“We set up the side slightly differently and there was some positive play in terms of energy and desire.

“I think we probably had more chances and corners in the first half than we have had for a long time.

“Towards the end of the half the game didn’t get stretched, but there were a few little niggly things that crept into the game that maybe started to spill over at the start of the second half.

“They brought on the big lad, Tom Denton, who caused us some problems due to the aerial threat.

“Silly mistakes have cost us all season and we made another one as there was a mix-up in the box. We are not learning from it which is disappointing.

“For the second goal, I think we should have dealt with it a bit better.

“It was a good ball in, but they have got a 6ft 5in lad and I have got two 6ft 4in and a goalkeeper, so I am a little bit disappointed with the two goals.”