Paper Talk: De Vos to miss Sky Blues date

Last updated : 09 March 2004 By Paul Farrington
The centre-half saw red in the 26th minute for pulling the shirt of former Leigh striker Steve Jones as he broke through on goal.

Although referee Alan Kaye dished out a straight red card, the punishment is just a one-game ban for denying an opponent a goalscoring opportunity.

De Vos will sit out the home clash with Coventry City later this month.

The sending-off was part of a heartbreaking afternoon for Latics, beaten in the league for the first time since Boxing Day.

Dean Ashton fired Crewe into a 2-0 lead with two penalties, the second awarded for de Vos' tug on Jones.

Lee McCulloch levelled the scores, the recalled striker netting twice in five minutes before the interval. But a stunning stoppage-time finish from Ashton halted Latics' eight match unbeaten run in the First Division.

Manager Paul Jewell later took defeat on the chin and backed his players to quickly bounce back.

He said: "I told the players that we can only take positives out of this game.
"There will be times from now until the end of the season where we are fortunate to get a result, so maybe this levels things out.

"I couldn't ask any more of them and I thought they were terrific. When we went down to 10 men, the players gave that extra bit more than they normally do, if that is possible.

"I'm sure Dario Gradi would have taken 2-2 at half-time, and in the second-half we tried to win it.

"But in the end we got done by a wonder goal from Ashton. That goal coming so late on was hard to take and you could see the reaction of my players when it went in – they were on their knees.

"We've been kicked in the teeth by this defeat but it is now all about how we bounce back.

"We are still in third place and in the play-off positions, and if the players continue to give me the same effort, that will do for me."

Jewell had no complaints with either of the two penalties given against his side.

Ian Breckin's trip on Ashton was the first spot-kick given against Latics at the JJB this season, and de Vos followed that up with the challenge on Jones.

But Jewell still had a pop at referee Kaye for playing a dubious advantage in the run up to the second.

He said: "The first was a stonewall penalty and the second even more so. It was quite interesting then that the ref got it wrong – it was the linesman who had to give it.

"The ref didn't want to give it because he'd made a big mistake just before when we caught Crewe offside.

"Instead of blowing for offside, he let the play carry on with the ball in the air.

"When it came down a couple of seconds later, they broke through, and he was desperate not to give it because he knew he'd made a mistake by not giving offside.

"He was 10 yards away from it, the linesman was 30 yards away, yet the linesman gave it. I sometimes think they should give referees flags and allow the linesman to whistle from the side.

Latics have loaned young goalkeeper James Salisbury to Leigh RMI and he was expected to make his debut against Shrewsbury tonight.

Source: Wigan Evening Post.