PORTLAND United interim boss Gary Bailey rued the “double impact” of substitute Shaun Bessant’s red card against Brockenhurst ahead of their Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division trip to Sholing tonight (7.45pm).

Bessant was sent off with just minutes of the encounter remaining, for what referee Derek Pratt deemed to be a dangerous tackle on Badgers’ midfielder Will Tickle.

A straight red hands Bessant a three-game ban and Bailey, who has only just welcomed the defender back from injury, now has one less player available from an already stretched squad.

He told Echosport: “We’ve just got him back fit and we lose him. We haven’t got a massive squad and with the games coming thick and fast as they are, the last thing you need to do is to lose a player not through injury or unavailability but through suspension.

“So it’s going to have a double impact on us. It didn’t really affect us as it was late in the game, so the actual impact in the game wasn’t massive, but the impact is going forward with three games starting Saturday.

“But that’s football, we have to deal with that.”

Commenting on the tackle itself, Bailey admitted Bessant gave the referee “a decision to make” by going to ground at speed.

He said: “I’m not doing an Arsene Wenger here, but it was a long way

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away from us. To be fair, I think it was probably a strong tackle.

“Once you go to ground at tempo, at pace, running across and you go to ground, you give the referee a decision to make.

“It’s one of them, probably a 50/50 as to whether it’s a yellow or a red and at the end of the day the ref was in a better position than we were to make that call, and he’s made it.

“You can’t argue with it, they were on the spot to make that decision. I don’t think it was a vicious tackle, it was a genuine attempt for the ball, but once you go to ground you give them the opportunity to make the decision.”

The Blues travel to the Boatmen looking to upset a run of form for the hosts that has seen them win each of their last six league games.

Alex Godfrey (ankle) is expected to miss the clash, while there is no concern over Ross Doidge, who was substituted after 60 minutes against the Badgers as a precaution after a recent hamstring injury.

Elsewhere, Ryan McKechnie remains unavailable for Bailey’s men.

n Dorchester Town Reserves continue their Wyvern Midweek Combination League campaign with a trip to Moneyfields tonight (7.45pm).

Rich Robson’s men ran out 6-1 victors in the reverse fixture in September and currently sit fourth in the standings, four points and one place above today’s hosts.