Rotherham United 0 Barnet 0: Moore calls for change of heart after Newey’s ‘phantom’ punch

But the Sunderland official seemed in no doubt that he made the right decision to dismiss Millers left-back Tom Newey for violent conduct in the 71st minute, confirming without further elaboration as the officials finally emerged from their changing rooms that a punch had been thrown.

Eltringham took advice from a linesman before issuing a straight red and one must accept that is what officials are there for – to spot things which no-one else on the ground has noticed.

To be fair, the incident involving Barnet striker Izale McLeod, who was booked, took place well away from the fans but it was close to the dugouts and visiting manager Paul Fairclough admitted he had not witnessed the alleged incident. He had, however, pointed out the referee’s record to his players prior to kick-off – 11 red cards and 60 bookings in 22 games.

It all stemmed from striker Steve Kabba collapsing over the touchline with hamstring trouble, Rotherham winning a free-kick and McLeod keeping hold of the ball as Barnet hurriedly tried to get Mark Byrne ready to come off the bench.

Newey attempted to wrestle the ball from McLeod, who fell to the floor, and that is when the ‘phantom’ punch, as Millers chief Moore saw it, was thrown.

“The sending off was a joke really,” said Moore, relieved in the end to have claimed a point after two great saves in stoppage time by Andy Warrington.

“The linesman said that Tom Newey had thrown a punch but he was trying to get the ball off the lad. That was the only thing he was trying to do. I hope they have a look at it because it was right in front of me and if I had seen Newey do that then I would have fined him.

“I didn’t see any reason why he was sent off. You expect the officials to get it right. The linesman’s only 10 yards away, the referee hasn’t seen anything and then the linesman tells him Newey has thrown a punch which he hasn’t. I hope they are honest enough to have a look and maybe we can do something about it.

“It was ridiculous how the Barnet player went down. He’s got the lad sent off, there’s no doubt about that. I am hoping it doesn’t go down the road of an appeal, I am hoping they are honest enough to say they made a mistake.”

Newey will begin a three-match ban at Bradford City tomorrow should the red card not be erased and this is a derby Rotherham will be desperate to win, having dropped out of the top three after a sixth home draw of the season.

They would have been on the way to three points against the next-to-bottom club well before Newey walked, had they taken their first-half opportunities.

Barnet had a couple of players walking a disciplinary tightrope within seven minutes as Eltringham added to his collection of bookings by showing yellow cards to Mark Hughes and Joe Devera, whom Moore felt could have gone for holding Ryan Taylor near halfway as the final defender.

The Millers, unchanged from the midweek win at Torquay, got on top and a back-heel from Ryan Taylor enabled Adam Le Fondre to shoot on the turn but the ball took a slight deflection wide of the far post.

Goalkeeper Jake Cole then came to the fore after another attempt from Le Fondre was deflected for another corner. The visiting defence was caught cold as Newey raced into the area and let loose only to see Cole go full-length to push the shot for another flag kick. This time, Newey’s centre was met by the head of Liam Henderson but Cole was again equal to the task, going to his left to push the ball away.

Jason Taylor then failed to get a decisive strike as he ran on to namesake Ryan’s inside header but the midfield man was on hand to clear the danger from Anwar Uddin’s downward header from a corner at the other end.

Millers captain Nick Fenton was also inches away from converting a free-kick just before the break.

On-loan Omar Daley, who misses tomorrow’s match against his parent club, as does swap colleague Kevin Ellison for Bradford, was sent on to inject pace but the midweek exertions and a heavily sanded pitch, cut up by recent rugby league matches, took a toll on the Millers.

They were not as threatening even though Barnet lost captain Anwar Uddin with a damaged ankle – right-back Clovis Kamdjo proving more than able as he deputised in the middle of defence.

Marcus Marshall was then sacrificed for defender Callum Kennedy after Newey’s dismissal but though Daley went close with a blocked shot, Barnet scented an opportunity against 10 men only for Warrington to push over shots from Jordan Parkes and Sam Deering in the five minutes of stoppage time.

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Rotherham United: Warrington, Coid, Mullins, Fenton, Newey; Law, J Taylor, Marshall (Kennedy 75); Henderson (Daley 66), R Taylor, Le Fondre. Unused substitutes: Harrison, Ashworth, Thomas- Moore, Randall, Annerson.

Barnet: Cole, Kamdjo, Uddin (Parkes 50), Devera, Parsons; Deering, Hughes, Pulis (Jarvis 85), Marshall; McLeod, Kabba (Byrne 72). Unused substitutes: Cox, O’Brien, Taylor, Vilhete.

Referee: G Eltringham (Sunderland).