Keith Curle will study footage closely before deciding today whether to appeal Luke Joyce’s controversial red card at Wycombe.

The midfielder and his Carlisle United team-mates are adamant Joyce has a case after he was dismissed for a challenge on Sam Wood in the 1-1 draw.

As things stand Joyce is facing a three-game ban that will rule him out of league games against Yeovil and Bristol Rovers, as well as the FA Cup first round.

Carlisle were stunned by the straight red card issued by ref Rob Lewis, while home manager Gareth Ainsworth admitted the decision may have been “a little harsh”.

Curle felt Joyce had been punished for “a fantastic tackle”, leaving Carlisle to play 66 minutes with 10 men as they were denied victory by Paul Hayes’ last-minute equaliser.

United boss Curle said: “I thought it was a great, committed tackle.

“If anything, you think their lad knew Joycey had momentum, so rather than go in wholeheartedly, I think he just competed.

“He didn’t make as wholehearted a challenge as Joycey. That shows our commitment.

“I think the fourth official said it was excessive force. But a tackle’s a tackle. If you show more force than the other person, isn’t that your desire to win the ball?

“I saw the referee motioning that it was two feet off the ground. No it wasn’t. It was a proper tackle. That’s how I saw it.”

Asked if he would appeal against the decision, Curle said he would have “another look” at footage of the incident.

He added: “I was told if you don’t tackle with an element of aggression, and just dangle a leg, the likelihood is you end up getting hurt.

“I don’t think either player would have got hurt in that tackle – and I don’t think either did.

“It was an old-school tackle that probably got misinterpreted by the officials.”

Joyce also revealed his dismay after the game, tweeting his opinion that the third red card of his career had been the result of “a fair tackle”.

Curle felt Carlisle responded well to losing the 28-year-old, taking the lead through Troy Archibald-Henville in the 47th minute before Hayes struck at the death.

The United boss said: “We came to a place where they like action, they like to get the ball forward quickly and go for knock-downs.

“We had to deal with that. Despite going down to 10 men for nearly 70 minutes, I didn’t think they caused us problems. We manned up. We were very competitive.

shuffled

“We shuffled our pack around, we knew when the ball was coming in, and it asked us to be strong and resilient.

“In the end it was miscommunication, a mix-up and a hopeful lob back into the box that cost us.

“The manner of the goal we conceded in the last throes of the game was disappointing. But overall we’re happy and we walk away knowing we’ve done a good job.”

Curle said Michael Raynes will be fit to return against Yeovil next weekend after a bruised hip again sidelined the defender. But top scorer Jabo Ibehre is not yet ready for a comeback.

Carlisle will learn their FA Cup opponents tonight when the draw is made at 7pm on BBC 2.