A RED RAW ENCOUNTER

O'Neill's men win thrilling clash but 'worst Aasgaard tackle leaves Gers with 10 men

- BY RYAN McDONALD

ARNE ENGELS insists Thelo Aasgaard's red card tackle was one of the WORST he's seen in football.

Rangers playmaker Aasgaard was sent for an early bath after planting his studs into Anthony Ralston’s groin during a frantic first half.

Referee Nick Walsh immediately reached for his top pocket and ordered the Norwegian off (right) ~ leaving Gers with a mountain to climb as they trailed 1-0 after Johnny Kenny's opener.

Engels was just yards away from the shocking challenge that left Ralston in a heap. And the Belgian blasted: “That was an incredible tackle. If you go into to somebody like that, that’s just crazy I think. I was at a good angle to see it and it didn't really look good.

“Those tackles can't be on a football pitch. Was it one of the worst I've seen in my career? Yeah, probably one of the worst.

“We know that it’s a really big game and there are going to be tackles and duels that are on the limit. We also did that and that was also a positive thing about our intensity that we also showed that we were there.

“But those tackles can't be on a football pitch, you need to defend our players and that’s what we did as a group.

“We reacted really well on that and I think the referee made the right decision”