Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has spoken of his disappointment at referee Peter Bankes after his side's 3-3 draw at home to Preston North End on Tuesday night.

Villa were coasting after first-half goals from Jonathan Kodjia and Tammy Abraham took them into a 2-0 lead, before James Chester's 54th-minute red card transformed the game, as North End struck three times to lead 3-2 going into the dying embers of the encounter.

The Villans then hit back in injury time through Yannick Bolasie, but will feel bitterly disappointed after Glenn Whelan missed a spot-kick in injury time which would have undoubtedly been the winning goal of the game.

After the match, Villa boss Bruce spoke of his frustrations after Chester's red card, saying that it "changed the impetus of the game".

"Our first-half performance in particular was, certainly the best of the season", Bruce said.

"But for me the whole night turns ugly on a horrible decision made by the referee - yes, we can defend better and play better with ten men, but the whole impetus of the game changed on that one call from the referee".

Villa will have seen it as a missed opportunity to claim only their second win in their last nine league games, with North End still sitting in 24th place in the Championship table.

The Verdict

Bruce has a point - if Chester didn't get sent off then Villa would have surely held on to their lead and maybe have pushed for even more goals.