Sheffield United skipper's honest view of Mason Holgate Brighton red card as Specsavers lead the trolling

Anel Ahmedhodzic admitted that Mason Holgate's early red card "killed everything" Sheffield United had worked for against Brighton, despite immediately questioning the decision to send his teammate off early in their eventual 5-0 defeat. Holgate saw red for a wild lunge at Kaoru Mitoma, with the initial booking quickly upgraded after a quick VAR check.

The game was only just 12 minutes old when Holgate made his decision, leaving his teammates a mountain to climb against one of the Premier League's best possession-based teams with a man disadvantage. After finding themselves 2-0 down United's 10 men kept Brighton at bay for 50 more minutes before a late burst saw the Seagulls score five at Bramall Lane for the second time in three weeks.

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Bosnian defender Ahmedhodzic faced the broadcast media soon after the final whistle on another difficult day for United this season, describing it as "a horrible feeling." "I thought we started the game off well," the Blades skipper added. "Everything went according to the game-plan and we created a few chances. And then we get a red card and it kills the game.

"It killed our plan and killed everything we had worked for. If you ask my opinion, that’s not a red card. I do not. From what I saw on the pitch, I don’t think so. Maybe on the replay it seems harsher than it is. But I don’t know, on the pitch I saw it was a fair tackle."

Ahmedhodzic's verdict on his teammate's wild lunge was widely ridiculed, with even Specsavers sensing an opportunity for some viral marketing by inviting the Blades skipper to get in touch for an eye test. But in mitigation the defender had not seen a replay of the incident while many - including this correspondant and even referee Stuart Attwell - did not realise its severity after seeing it 'live'.

"It’s probably one of the hardest teams to play against with 10 men," added Ahmedhodzic, whose side remained seven points adrift of fourth-bottom Luton after the Hatters' home defeat to Manchester United on Sunday evening. "Obviously they’re a really good possession team but before we had 10 men, I thought it was a game we could win."