Gloucester City beaten 4-2 on penalties by Redditch United but game overshadowed by off-field drama

Daf Williams has said the club will appeal Michael O'Regan's red card as his side have lost 4-2 on penalties to Redditch United in the FA Trophy.

Tyler Bruck opened the scoring for the hosts, and it took until the second half and a red card for City to respond through a rapid-fire Harry Williams brace, before Redditch's Dan Sweeney scored late on to take the game to penalties.

Kian Hill missed the deciding penalty that meant Gloucester City have excited two cup competitions in the same week.

"Yet again it's a red card, I haven't seen it back but watching it live and speaking to others we'll definitely look at appealing that.

"A lot of different factors to suggest that a red card is very unfair and harsh, but again the way that the lads responded was outstanding.

"It was a really disappointing goal to concede at the end and then of course penalties are a lottery so overall there's a lot of positives to take from it and we have to prioritise the league."

It was announced yesterday that Canadian winger James Wilson has signed for Williams' side, in a position that the manager admitted they needed strength in.

"He's been at a couple National League clubs that have really recommended him, and he's in a position that we probably need some depth in now.

"Keiran Thomas is out with a suspension so it was a good opportunity to get him through the door quickly, and I thought he did well in the game today."

Gloucester City sit 20th in the Southern League Premier South, however they have up to three games in hand on some teams and are only nine points from the play off positions. The Tigers travel to Plymouth Parkway on Tuesday night in a game where a win would likely see them bounce out of the drop zone.

"They're a really aggressive and intense side, and I thought we played really well against them at our place, albeit it took a last-minute equaliser to get a result.

"One of the things we've been able to do is rest a few players, so I feel like we are in a good place as a squad, and a good place for what is going to be a difficult week."

But as if the defeat wasn't crushing enough, several Gloucester City fans have taken to social media to share the 'horrific' aftermath of the match, claiming that rocks were thrown by Redditch fans, and even narrowly avoided hitting a mother and her child.

There have also been claims that a larger fight broke out in the stadium car park, in which 'punches were thrown' and police were called. West Mercia Police have been contacted for comment.

Gloucester City AFC also issued a statement on Sunday, October 25, saying: "Following yesterday’s fixture, serious concerns have been raised regarding the safety of our travelling supporters, after an incident involving a small minority of Redditch United supporters that resulted in one of our fans sustaining an injury.

"The safety and wellbeing of our supporters is paramount, and we want to reassure everyone that incidents of this nature will be taken extremely seriously. Investigations will take place to establish the full circumstances surrounding what happened and to ensure the appropriate action is taken.

"We would like to thank and applaud the overwhelming majority of those in attendance yesterday who conducted themselves appropriately. In particular, we thank our travelling supporters, who once again represented Gloucester City superbly and did the club proud throughout."