With the dust finally settling on another memorable away day for Notts County, midfielder Ruben Rodrigues has had his say on his dismissal at Plainmoor at the weekend.
The Magpies talisman received his second booking of the afternoon from referee Paul Johnson after handling the ball from John Bostock's overhit free-kick, leaving his side a man light for the final 25 minutes of the game.
But the 26-year-old's third penalty in a week proved decisive once again, netting his 12th goal of the season to keep Luke Williams' side at the top of the National League.
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On what was an afternoon filled with bizarre decisions on Saturday afternoon, Rodrigues was on hand to detail the reasoning behind his dismissal while also focusing on the decisions that kept Gulls midfielder Ryan Hanson on the pitch despite making several bookable fouls.
Speaking to the Notts official website, Rodrigues said: "When I saw the referee pulling the red card out, I felt a bit shamed because I let the team down and embarrassed because it's never nice to be in the position of being sent off even though it's not your fault.
"Looking back at it, it's a lot of frustration from my side because the first yellow I jump out of the way and he dives, and I think that was the first foul the whole team made.
"If I look back, their number seven he was on a yellow and he kicked me from behind twice and he warned him twice - it is frustrating from my side because it's never nice to pick up a yellow but I am really glad that the team dug deep and got the win in the end."
Ultimately, Rodrigues' sending off will see him miss this weekend's highly-anticipated clash with fellow title hopefuls Chesterfield at the Technique Stadium.
While Williams is blessed with plenty of options in the attacking midfield role, Notts will certainly miss that flash of brilliance and tenacity Rodrigues provides.
Following their win, the Notts boss highlighted the role that Frank Vincent and Jim O'Brien played in the victory over Gary Johnson's side, despite being left on the bench for the afternoon.
And despite Rodrigues' frustrations about not being involved this weekend, he insisted that he intends to provide the same support from the sidelines against the Spireites.
"It's annoying really - it is a game you look forward to at the start of the season and the one you play the game for," he said.
"It is almost like the second time we have to go there because we should have played already, so it is even more frustrating from my end.
"But at the end of the day, I am sure that it's going to be a good game, even without me.
"It's going to be a new role, and like the gaffer said the likes of Frank Vincent and Jim O'Brien who haven't played lately, behind the scenes they are doing the driving in training and making us on our toes.
"I am just going to motivate the players and the new players that have come in so that they understand and know how big this game is for the fans and how important it is for them."
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