KARL Robinson was once again left frustrated by the refereeing as Oxford United held on to grab a point at Portsmouth.

Billy Bodin was shown a second yellow card with 18 minutes left to play at Fratton Park, as United finished with 10 men for the second consecutive game.

It followed Matty Taylor’s sending off against Peterborough United at the weekend, a decision the club unsuccessfully appealed.

Rather than the red card incident on the south coast, Robinson’s frustrations were this time aimed at the Pompey equaliser.

Referee Sam Purkiss consulted with his linesman, after Colby Bishop had prodded home from a corner.

However, Robinson and his players felt aggrieved at what they felt was a handball prior to Bishop striking.

United’s head coach said: “I’m so proud of my players and what they give.

“From me and my point of view, I don’t understand what he’s seen.

“Again it’s nothing short of embarrassment, when you see the handball, it’s unbelievable.

“You’re coming here against a good team, who are in the top six and players that we know are very, very good players.

“They’re a good team, they’re well-coached and well-managed.

“From the front end of the pitch and centrally, they’ve got some really good players, and we for 45 minutes were very good.

“My players are giving me everything.”

Oxford Mail: Colby Bishop equalises for Portsmouth. Picture: Steve EdmundsColby Bishop equalises for Portsmouth. Picture: Steve Edmunds

On Bodin’s sending off, Robinson said: “Billy Bodin shouldn’t have been booked in the first half, it wasn’t a booking.

“You want him to come off it a little bit, but part of who he is, is he cares.

“When you’re in the middle of a game, you forget sometimes and he just went into a tackle. He knew right away.

“I get booked for having a go, because I care.

“Because my hand’s towards his face, which I know I can’t do.

“I’m frustrated but I’m equally proud of my players, and the fans who travelled to watch us play.”

Robinson heaped praise on his side for showing a steely grit, to grind out a point while playing with a man down.

He said: “We’ve just been like trojans out there, we really have.

“I absolutely love this group, they give me everything every week.

“The league table is false in relation to desire and games where we’ve been better than the opposition.

“In the second half, they were far better but that’s because we were down to 10 men.”