Dundalk fell to a second successive defeat and dropped to fourth in the League of Ireland Premier Division after a frustrating 1-0 loss to Shelbourne at Oriel Park on Friday evening.
Joey O'Brien came into the clash as the manager under pressure but it was Ciarán Kilduff that saw red, receiving a second yellow after the whistle for a loose ball on the pitch.
"There was some disgraceful decisions there tonight, I got sent off after the game. My first yellow card was for asking the referee to get a hold of the game. I didn't curse," the ex-Dundalk striker told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
"The second one was because a ball came onto the pitch. If I'm accountable, those are the rules, fair enough, but I thought that game was out of control from start to finish. I thought some of the time-wasting that went on. It was a really frustrating night for us"
Shelbourne then took the lead in somewhat controversial circumstances on 11 minutes when Daniel Kelly flicked Kerr McInroy's ball from a short corner routine past Enda Minogue.
Dundalk had every reason to feel aggrieved having been denied both a free kick and throw-in in the build-up with Kilduff raising the foul on Harvey Warren in this incident as a point of contention with the refereeing.
"The game should have been stopped. It was clear. He was hurt. It was a free. You've got a corner ball that's up in your net. I think it really does lead to frustration.
"I never come and hammer referees... I'm just saying there tonight that was way off the level. The game was out of control from start to finish. They had a staff member sent off from their tactical area.
"It was just out of control. I thought there were decisions given that shouldn't have been. There were decisions that should have been given that weren't.
"It was a really frustrating night all around. We lost the game ourselves. Just because it was a corner didn't mean we should let it go into our net... There was a free in the build-up. It wasn't given. It cost us."
The defeat to Shels was Kilduff's first at home as manager of the Louth outfit, and despite the loss he felt there were some positive moments of play.
"It's getting tough now in terms of the league. Teams are beginning to hit the rhythm. We started the season really well, but I think on there tonight, we had moments to be better.
"Created a few chances in the first half. Not as many as you would have liked, but in key territory, we thought we were where we wanted to be."
Tensions also boiled over earlier with a tussle between Sean Boyd and Mayowa Animasahun that saw neither player carded but bookings for both captains inside 25 minutes.
Shelbourne manager O'Brien said that while he was pleased with Boyd's composure, he felt he got off lightly.
"He should have been sent off as well," O'Brien told RTÉ Sport.
"I said to Boyd, 'he's an experienced player now'. I thought, if it was Sean a few years ago, he probably would have lost his head a bit.
"The linesman told the ref he should have sent the player off, and he didn't send him off, which was a mad decision."
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