Sittingbourne picked up the earliest red card of the new Isthmian South East season in controversial circumstances.

Returning defender Ben Gorham was sent off just five minutes into the Brickies’ opening game at Whitehawk on Saturday.

He was dismissed by referee Michael Ryan for deliberately handling a goalbound shot but Gorham saw the situation differently, claiming it was ball to hand and the strike wasn’t going in anyway.

Joe Shelley converted from the penalty spot and Javaun Splatt added a second on the stroke of half-time.

The Brickies’ 10 men put in a phenomenal effort in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees, pulling a goal back through Frank Puemo a minute from time, but it finished 2-1.

Manager Nick Davis said: “You plan and prepare as much as you can over seven weeks of pre-season and it all goes out the window, doesn’t it?

“I still don’t know now if it’s a red card.

“Ben’s not deliberately handballed it, it hit his arm, and he said it was going wide.

“I watched the Nottingham Forest v West Ham game on Sunday and the guy (Forest’s Scott McKenna) has been done for deliberate handball and not been sent off.

“The ball wasn’t going towards goal, Ben wasn’t on the goalline, it's exactly the same, but there you go.

“It’s happened now, we have to swallow it, you just hope these things even themselves out.”

Davis, whose side host Ramsgate tonight, took heart from Sittingbourne’s performance with 10 men.

On another day they could have returned from Sussex with a share of the spoils.

Davis added: “When you’re playing for 85 minutes with 10 men, in that heat, initially it’s let's try and regroup and set up with two banks of four and one up top and try and get through to half-time with only one goal conceded.

“We could have scored ourselves - the keeper’s made a brilliant save - but the most disappointing thing was to concede a second goal - a preventable goal - on the stroke of half-time.

“Second half, we were outstanding, especially going up the slope with 10 men in the heat.

“I always thought the longer it went on if it stayed at 2-0 I’d go two up and try and get something but I didn’t want to do it too early.

“It was a case of when to twist because if you do it too early, it could end up being five or six.

“With 15 minutes left I went 3-4-2, brought on Lewis Chambers for his long throw and we started to threaten.

“We nearly scored, then we did get one back, but we ran out of time to equalise.

“Should have I twisted sooner? I don’t know.

“It was damage limitation until the last 15 minutes but I’m really proud of the heart and resolve we showed, we kept a decent shape and were hard to break down.

"They might have been content with two goals but, nonetheless, we set up extremely well.

“It’s all ifs, buts and maybes, but with 11 men I’d have fancied our chances."

Sittingbourne are in FA Cup preliminary round action at Southern Counties East club Fisher on Saturday.

Davis played for Fisher in their previous guise before they went bankrupt, winning promotion to Conference South under the late Justin Edinburgh.

“The FA Cup’s brilliant,” said Davis. “It gives you an opportunity to dream, doesn’t it?

“A couple of good draws and you could go on a run but we’ve got to win on Saturday first, and that won’t be easy. It’ll be a tough game, really tough.

“Fisher’s my old club as well, I’m sure I’ll see some old faces.”