2 hours Ago
GEORGE Johnston has explained his role in the red card given to Cambridge United’s Jubril Okedina in last night’s 1-1 draw at the Abbey Stadium. The Bolton centre-back hit the deck as his side were preparing to defend a corner, with replays showing Okedina raised his hand to ‘slap’ him in the face. Referee Paul Howard deemed the incident serious enough to issue a straight red card, and Johnston insisted after the game that it had been the correct decision.
George Johnston holds his face after the 'slap' from Okedina (Image: CameraSport - Andrew Kearns) Speaking after the final whistle, he said: “It was a bit of pushing and shoving, like you would expect at a set piece, and then he hit me on the side of the face. Normally I wouldn’t go down but I will do what I can to benefit the team. “I don’t want to go down, I am not that sort of player, but it is an opportunity to get a man sent off for something he did wrong.
It is completely his fault and nothing that I did wrong, so it is a red card.” Johnston said there had been a mood of anger in the dressing room that two points had been allowed to slip through their grasp, Aaron Collins having put them ahead on the hour after Okedina’s exit. Sulley Kaikai scored an 89th minute header to give the U’s a deserved point and Bolton missed out on a chance to climb into sixth spot.
“That we didn’t take the opportunity to climb the table is the most over-riding thing that we’re feeling at the moment, and the manner it happened,” he said. “With them going a man down we felt like we had more control of the game but after it we didn’t capitalise on the opportunity they presented. Conceding so many set pieces against a team that love to attack them, it is going to be difficult.
I thought we defended them well for large parts of the night but unfortunately we conceded one late on. “The main thing against teams like this is not to give away cheap ones in that sort of area, and we weren’t streetwise enough. We are not the biggest side in the league and they did have some big lads who were difficult to deal with, aggressive.
We contained them for most of the night but when it mattered, we didn’t.”.
