THE inquest may continue into how and why Nathan Vaughan was red carded moments after the final whistle.

But the reality is these unwanted incidents are overshadowing City’s season and threatening to scupper their hopes of staying well clear of the drop zone.

Unlike many of their eight previous red cards, this one failed to alter the result as Harry Williams’ deflected effort and Billy Jones’ second-half penalty cancelled out Deon Burton’s opener.

But, as well as leaving a bad taste in their mouths, joint-bosses Carl Heeley and Matt Gardiner will have yet another suspension to deal with.

On a positive note, the opening 30 minutes of this Vanarama National League North encounter saw City produce some of their best football of the campaign.

Tristian Dunkley, Daniel Nti and Ebby Nelson-Addy terrorised Gloucester’s defence with their pace, power and trickery.

After coming in as a late replacement for Lee Hughes, who picked up an injury in the warm-up, Burton was also proving a handful in attack.

And, in a similar fashion to his match-winning goal at Whaddon Road, the former Jamaican international made it 1-0.

After Dunkley’s glancing header bounced off the crossbar, Nti chipped the ball back into the box for Burton to head home.

The goal on 22 minutes was as much as City deserved and they should have extended their lead as their level increased.

Nti was presented with a great opportunity after Worcester brilliantly worked the ball into the area, while Nelson-Addy had a chance to score a contender for goal of the season.

The midfielder sprinted from the halfway line before weaving his way past two defenders.

But the duo's efforts lacked the precision to beat former Kidderminster Harriers keeper Jas Singh, who was keeping Gloucester in the contest.

As time wore on, Tigers sensed an opportunity and they choose the perfect moment to strike.

With two minutes to go in the first half, Williams cut inside and fired in a left-foot shot that was diverted past Vaughan by Tom Sharpe.

The centre-back was then unfortunate again 10 minutes into the second period as he appeared to trip Lewis Hall on the edge of the area.

But referee Ben Cooke pointed to the spot and Jones sent Vaughan the wrong way.

Prior to this, Worcester had their own penalty appeal turned down after Dunkley seemed to be upended.

But City still had 35 minutes to find a response and they failed to trouble Gloucester, who comfortably saw out time.

What exactly happened after the referee brought proceedings to a close remains unclear as Vaughan saw yellow before being brandished a red as tempers flared.

However, it is certainly a problem City do not need as they look ahead to crunch clashes against fellow strugglers Lowestoft Town and Corby Town this month.