Colchester United journey to Brentford on New Year's Day with Bees manager Wally Downes still seething about the sending-off of his top scorer Rowan Vine.

The Portsmouth loanee striker was controversially given his marching orders in the dying seconds of last Saturday's 1-0 home win over lowly Mansfield for two bookable offences.

And the man-in-the-middle who blew the whistle on Vine just happened to be Hertfordshire referee Grant Hegley the same referee who landed the U's and Oldham Athletic in hot water with the FA after his highly controversial red carding of Mark Warren in September.

Incensed by Hegley's decision to send-off Vine, Downes said: "You might as well book everyone of my players everytime they go out as I tell them to have an aggressive attitude.

"Football is an agressive game, a man's game, and a contact sport."

Downes added: "The fact that Vine was involved in the incident swayed the referee as he had already been booked.

"But you can't just pick one player out for aggression when a lot more of them with far more aggressive attitudes than Rowan were involved."

Brentford's win produced a timely three points to stop any potential Christmas rot and Downes said: "If you don't play well you've just got to take the points."

Vine is currently heading the Bees scorers list with eight goals, followed by Stephen Hunt and Mark McCammon, both on five, and Ibrahima Sonko with four.

Only Michael Dobson and Kevin O'Connor, scorer of the winner against Mansfield, are everpresent in a Bees side that has won ten of it's 24 League outings this term - including a fortunate 1-0 win over the U's at Layer Road in August.

Published Tuesday, December 31, 2002

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