KARL Robinson felt Alex Gorrin’s early booking at Ipswich Town summed up an ‘inconsistent’ showing from referee Marc Edwards.

The Oxford United midfielder was yellow-carded after 23 minutes for a late challenge on winger Keanan Bennetts in the centre of the pitch, his first foul of the contest.

It came after Mark Sykes was on the end of a similarly rough tackle from Andre Dozzell in the same area, which saw the Ipswich midfielder escape without a caution.

Gorrin had to adapt his game after the booking, leaving Robinson frustrated with the referee.

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“There were some horrendous decisions,” the U’s head coach said.

“I think Alex himself would tell you he’s probably looked more leggy in the last few games than ever.

“He’s all about that front-foot press.

“What baffled me with the booking is there was a boot that went into the groin of Mark Sykes in the middle of the pitch and he just gave a free-kick.

“That’s a large part of the inconsistency.”

Robinson was pleased with Cameron Brannagan’s display in the deeper midfield role after Gorrin was replaced by Mide Shodipo with 62 minutes played.

He said: “It does nullify a lot of what he (Gorrin) is good at.

“Cameron Brannagan is top-drawer as a (No) 6.

“When he’s not scoring goals, that could be a position where he plays more often.”

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The U’s boss was pleased with his players’ desire, but admitted they lacked that spark of quality.

He said: “You couldn’t have a go at the players for their attitude or determination, but none of them really lit the game up.

“There were moments of magic from Brandon (Barker) and Mide (Shodipo), but not consistently enough.”