Reds coach Richard Graham admitted that he felt ‘aggrieved’ at the manner of his team’s 23-20 loss to the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.

A late try saw the hosts snatch a dramatic victory from the Reds who finished the match with only 13 players on the field as referee Stuart Berry issued two yellow cards.

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The Queensland side had been in firm control of the game at half-time, with flyhalf Quade Cooper playing a starring role, but they were kept scoreless as the Lions roared back in the second half.

The Reds were on the wrong side of a remarkable 19-4 penalty count, which left Graham with something of a bad taste in his mouth after the game.

“I’ve never seen that in a game before in my life.

“It would be fair to say that I felt aggrieved at the end of the match when we were down to six forwards and a back on the scrum and we’re going forward and (the Lions front row) stand up and we’re not rewarded.

“And I feel aggrieved that they throw the ball into the lineout not straight at the end of the game.

“But credit to (the Lions). They are a spirited side and they scrap and fight for everything.

“At 20-6 at half time I thought we had positioned ourselves well to go on with the game,” Graham said.

“However, we were on the wrong end of the penalty count, at 19-4, and the two yellow cards hurt us.”

“I thought we showed a tremendous amount of character when defending our line, but I am frustrated with the result.”

The Reds coach said that after a tough tour they are now focused on bouncing back in front of their home fans when they face the Stormers next week.

“We’re looking forward to returning home to our Fortress, Suncorp Stadium for a run of three home games. It has been a tough start to the season, with four of our first five games on the road, so it will be good to get back to Brisbane and focus on the Stormers.”