A FULL dustbin was thrown on to the pitch during an East Lancashire cup-tie derby.

Bosses at Darwen and Bacup Borough football clubs said that frustrations were running high during their third round League Challenge Cup fixture at West View after a Darwen player was shown a red card.

Darwen manager Kenny Langford said fans were ‘so annoyed’ by some of the decisions made by referee Richard Bartlett.

He said: “It was an emotional game to say the least.

“There was a dustbin thrown on the pitch, although it was not aimed at the players.

“It is not something we condone and I think it was directed at the referee as a gesture of how rubbish some of the decisions were.”

Darwen centre half Matthew Taylor was sent off early in the second half after being shown a second yellow card.

Bacup manager Brent Peters said after the dustbin was thrown, a Darwen player began arguing with some spectators behind the goal before the ‘Bin Man’ was escorted off the ground by a Bacup player’s mum.

He said: “These things happen in games, so I am making light of the incident.

“People take their frustrations out in different ways, especially if things are not going well for the team.

“From a neutral point of view, the game had everything.

“Both on and off the pitch, it was well worth every bit of the £6 admission.”

Around 100 people were at the game to witness Bacup win 1-0 with a 73rd minute strike from Shane Birtles.

They will now face Formby at home in the quarter-finals in March.