Lee Vaughan of AFC Telford Utd and Kevin Holsgrove of Hyde United

It’s not too often that I’ll compare current Telford captain Lee Vaughan with Manchester United centre half  Nemanja Vidic, writes AFC Telford blogger Alex James.

But after the Bucks full back was sent off away at Hyde United on Saturday earning a straight red card and, somehow, conceding a penalty, Vidic’s foul in the Carling Cup Final immediately sprung to mind.

Now whether the foul was actually in the same postcode as the penalty area is a different matter.

Clearly Vaughan’s tackle was outside the box and the referee made a mistake – fortunately justice was done when Ryan Young saved Scott McNiven’s spot kick.

But the point here is that Telford face being without their captain for a crucial period of their season after the dismissal.

And yet two weeks ago Vidic, quite clearly, fouled Aston Villa strike Gabby Agbonlahor in the Carling Cup Final and yet escaped a red card – the penalty deemed sufficient enough punishment for the Serb.

So how was Saturday any different?

If the referee thinks it’s a penalty then why the red card? Well, we know why. Because he was following the laws of the game.

And it’s that law that needs changing – if the foul isn’t a red card offence anywhere else on the field then it shouldn’t be a red card offence in the penalty area.

A penalty is as likely to be scored as the clear goalscoring opportunity that resulted in the red card, so let’s leave it at that.

To punish a side for one clumsy foul is too harsh and almost always ruins the game as a contest. It just needs a bit of common sense – something that is too often lacking from the decision makers in our game.

But there’s nothing Telford can do about that.

The Bucks have managed to scrape into the play-off places after that point but with so many sides below having games in hand it is still a tall order for Telford to finish in the top five.

The next two home games against Eastwood and Stalybridge will go a long way to determining where Telford finish the season.

A six point haul will serve the dual purpose of keeping the Bucks in the top five, while at the same time taking points of other sides in the promotion mix.

Then comes the return fixture with Hyde United – three home games on the bounce and the Bucks need all the support they can get in the battle for promotion.