Aston Villa: Alex McLeish slams red card decision in derby against West Brom

Oct 23 2011 by Mathew Kendrick, Sunday Mercury

ALEX McLeish was seething at the sending off he described as the “turning point” in Albion’s first Villa Park league victory in 32 years after Chris Herd was controversially red-carded.

Herd was dismissed 36 minutes into the 2-1 defeat to Roy Hodgson’s Baggies at Villa Park after referee Phil Dowd and linesman Darren Cann ruled he had stamped on Jonas Olsson. A Darren Bent penalty had given Villa a 23rd minute lead and Chris Brunt missed a spot kick for Albion before Olsson equalised from a corner on the stroke of half-time.

But West Brom completely controlled the second half and Paul Scharner grabbed the 57th minute winner from another corner for their first league win at Villa Park since May 1979.