Wellington Phoenix women and Football Ferns midfielder Emma Rolston has seen red - figuratively and literally - and was sent off in her side's 2-0 A-League defeat to Perth Glory.
Rolston, 26, was shown a straight red card in her side's loss, after clashing with Perth rival Ella Mastrantonio at Macedonia Park.
With the Phoenix 2-0 down in the first half, Mastrantonio scythed Rolston down in a tackle and then attempted to win the ball by kicking at the Phoenix midfielder, while she was down.
Rolston responded by pushing at her opponent twice, as Mastrantonio grabbed at her hair, leaving referee Casey Reibelt little choice but to show both players red cards.
Neither team could add to the score, while playing with 10 women for just short of an hour, as the Phoenix fell to their seventh defeat of the season.
The loss leaves them stuck on the bottom of the women's A-League ladder, with a solitary point coming from a 1-1 draw with Western Sydney this month.
The Phoenix are the only side yet to register a win this season.
Despite the latest defeat, head coach Natalie Lawrence believes her side still has plenty to play for this season.
"Game eight and, yeah, one point on the board but... we believe that we've still got 10 games to fight for," she said. "As long as we keep sticking to our process, then we believe the outcome will happen."
The red card will see Rolston miss the Phoenix's game against Canberra United on Sunday, but she will likely join the Football Ferns to prepare for their two matches against world champions USA this week.
