DANNY Wilson believes the behaviour of Crawley’s players and management led to Jonathan Douglas being sent off in last night’s FA Cup second round replay at the County Ground.

Town’s captain was given a straight red card by referee Phil Crossley on the stroke of half-time when he flew into a 50-50 challenge with Red Devils full-back Glenn Wilson.

Wilson insists his midfield general got the ball and pointed the finger at the conduct of the visitors for the subsequent dismissal, which will lead to a three-game ban.

“He made contact with the ball – there’s no doubt about that,” said the boss following a bad-tempered affair which Crawley won 3-2 after extra-time.

“The decision of the referee rested with the reaction of the players and management.

“Jonathan has gone through it (the ball) and there’s an argument he could have been out of control, which is probably what the referee will say.

“But he was in total control and what followed it was bang out of order.”

Crawley subjected Town to an aerial bombardment throughout the 120 minutes, with Ben Smith scoring a late extra-time winner.

And Wilson was critical of his players for not standing up to the non-league outfit.

“We didn’t cope with the way they played and the physical side of things,” he said. “I’m not saying we deserved to win the game, but at certain times you have to rise above them and be stronger. But we didn’t do that tonight.”

For all things Swindon Town, follow chief sports writer Anthony Marshall on Twitter at @stfcadver