TERRAS boss Andy Mason refused to criticise referee Kevin Greening for sending off Darran Rowbotham during last night's goalless draw with Bath City at the Wessex Stadium.

The former Exeter City striker was given his marching orders seven minutes from time after collecting a second yellow card for dissent in the space of 90 seconds.

"It's not my style to have a go at referees", the Weymouth player-manager said, "and to be fair, he didn't have much option but to send Darran off. He'd been booked for something he said just moments before and so really he shouldn't have got involved a second time.

"It's annoying because it's simply ill-discipline and who knows what might have happened had Darran been on the pitch during the closing stages. But I do understand that it can be frustrating when decisions go against you and it's easy to lose your cool in the heat of moment."

He added: "Darran himself was very disappointed and feels he was treated a bit harshly and he showed his annoyance by throwing his shirt in the dug-out as he left the pitch.

"But we've had a chat and he knows what I think and so hopefully he's learnt his lesson."

And Mason said he was disappointed not to have secured all three points from yesterday's opening home Dr Martens Premier Division fixture.

"We had a couple of decent chances", he said, "but Bath set out their stall right from the start and they came here not to lose. In that respect they did their job well and you've got to give them credit for that.

"In fact at the final whistle their players and fans were running around celebrating like they'd just won the World Cup, while for us it was probably more like two points dropped. But what's important is that we didn't lose and I was pleased that we kept a clean sheet. I know the supporters expect us to win every game at home, which is what the players expect as well, but sometimes you've just got to be patient because this league campaign is a marathon, not a sprint."

He added: "At the end of the day Bath played well, created a few chances and battled really hard, and on that performance I'd say that they have the look of a top six side about them."

Meanwhile Mason explained his reasoning behind a late selection change that saw Jason Rowbotham start the game in place of Ian Hutchinson.

He said: "It was purely tactical. We wanted to try something involving Jason and so Hutch was the unlucky one to be left out. But we decided to change things again at half-time with Jason giving way to Lee Phillips to give us an extra something up front.

"And while I thought we looked fairly comfortable during the first half, Lee's arrival definitely made a bit more happen and it's good that we've got the squad to be able to make changes and switch formations."