Cape Town - Golden Arrows coach Serame Letsoaka bemoaned the sending off of Maximilian Mbaeva that allowed Bidvest Wits to come from behind to secure a 3-2 victory on Saturday.
Arrows were reduced to 10-men with scores at 2-1 in their favour, but a quick-fire brace from Daine Klate saw the Students claim the win to go three points clear at the top of the Premiership standings.
And Letsoaka admits Abafana Bes'thende going down to 10 men simply derailed the side's focus, and that any positive outcome was going to be highly unlikely.
"We knew that Wits is a good team, and defensively we had to be very organised," Letsoaka told KickOff.
"I think we did well until we got the red card, and after that our boys sort of collapsed and that's how Wits won the game.
"These things happen in football, and you can expect [defeat] when you're playing away with 10-men.
"We conceded immediately after the red card, and obviously it's a mental blow to our players, who start thinking 'we could have won the match after being 2-1 up but now it's a draw', and then anything can happen.
"I think we should have been better after the red card; better organised and mentally a bit stronger."