ALLOA boss Jim Goodwin blasted Arbroath’s Ricky Little, claiming the defender’s over-the-top reaction got Callum Smith sent off in last Saturday’s stalemate.

Smith was red-carded after a tackle on Little, with Goodwin claiming the challenge was worthy of no more than a yellow card.

And the manager’s frustration was compounded after it was revealed that he will be unable to appeal the decision thanks to a lack of video footage.

Goodwin told Advertiser Sport: “I think the referee rushed the decision to be honest. The reaction of the Arbroath player was pathetic.

"He was on the ground screaming and squealing like a pig and then as soon as the referee brandished the red card, he was up on his feet within ten seconds.

"The way he reacted to the tackle, you’d have thought he was going off on a stretcher. You’d have thought his season was over.

The gaffer added: “Callum has overstretched for the ball. He’s definitely not a dirty or nasty player.

"He’s a young lad who will no doubt learn from it, but it was a booking. Everybody in the stadium including the Arbroath bench assumed it was going to be a yellow card.

"But I just think the referee’s mind was made up by the reaction of the player, because he made it seem a lot worse than it actually was.

“We were going to try to appeal it, but there was nobody filming the game, which is unfortunate for us. But there’s nothing we can do.”

Smith’s red card means the youngster is added to an already eye-watering list of absentees which left Goodwin able to name just three substitutes for the weekend fixture, including himself and teenage reserve goalkeeper Andrew Wilson.

He said: “We put the squad together for circumstances like that and thankfully the guys who came into the side did great.

"They did a fantastic job for the team which it’s all about. I don’t care who scores goals or who gets the plaudits.

"For me it’s about the whole group and everybody, whether they are starting or on the bench, buying into what we’re trying to do.

"Everyone needs to be ready when called upon, and the likes of Jon Robertson and Kris Renton came in and did fantastic.”

The manager is hopeful that some key players could return for Saturday’s meeting with Stranraer, but warned that he may have to return to the emergency loan market if his squad isn’t bolstered.

Goodwin added: “Kevin and Stevie will be back in the squad and we’ll assess Jamie and Ross. Hopefully I’ll get some kind of report back from the physios at their parent clubs.

"But if their injuries are going to be any longer than we initially thought then we might need to dip back into the loan market, because we can’t run with a squad of thirteen or fourteen players.

"We’ll have a look at that as a club and see where we are towards the end of the week. If everyone is ok then great, but if not then we may have to look at adding to the squad again.”