Dean Windass today insisted he was not the guilty party following a fracas which saw Cheltenham skipper John Finnegan sent off.

Finnegan was red-carded for elbowing Windass in the face after the City striker appeared to grab his groin.

Cheltenham were fuming that Windass was only booked in the incident and their anger increased as City hit back from a goal down to beat the ten men 2-1.

But Windass said: "Their manager called me a cheat but I can't see why.

"His player elbowed me in the face and it doesn't matter if he connected or not. He's got himself sent off, I didn't do it.

"There was a bit of a melee and I grabbed him. But he took the bait.

"Their manager said he wouldn't do that sort of thing but he (Finnegan) has done so they can't complain.

"The main thing is we've got three more points and the rest is history."

Cheltenham boss John Ward complained: "The fourth official has seen Dean Windass grab John Finnegan by the testicles. He did it twice and squeezed them quite tightly.

"It's a very unpleasant thing that doesn't happen often in professional football and hopefully I won't see it again for a long time."

Colin Todd claimed he did not see the clash but added: "If the elbow was there then it has to be a red card.

"But I thought it was a tremendous performance from us and we played with a lot of cohesion and enterprise.

"We are a different side from last year and there is so much going for us.

"It's no coincidence we're winning games because the players are pulling together and playing with a trust, a belief and a lot of confidence."

Meanwhile, Ben Muirhead is heading for London for another hernia operation.

Muirhead played 45 minutes for the reserves in midweek but complained of pain the following morning. A hospital scan confirmed that he will need further treatment.

  • City will play Scunthorpe United at home in the first round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on Tuesday, October 17 (7.45).