Rooks robbed by rash of red cards

The Rooks have every reason to feel aggrieved after a game that hinged on the dismissal of Djoumin Sangare for a second bookable offence on the stroke of half-time. But it was only when the Borough players intervened that the Frenchman finally got his marching orders. Referee Andy Legg was obviously having trouble with his notebook and was happy to issue two yellows but no red.

The decision took several minutes and required consultation with both linesmen. Mr Legg should have remembered that the pantomime season was taking place down the road at the Devonshire Park Theatre. The official lost all credibility with both sets of fans and crucially with the Rooks's bench.

The game had started with the visitors looking well organised and comfortably the better side. On 17 minutes a weak header from a Borough defender fell to Jean-Michel Sigere, whose neat first touch allowed Mo Harkin to blast home from close range.

Sigere looked sharp throughout, although he should have done better when getting only a glancing contact on a Harkin cross that flew well wide. The Rooks might also have taken the lead when Dean Brennan thundered the ball against goalkeeper Lee Hook's right post in the first ten minutes.

Lewes were already justifiably aggrieved when Mr Legg made a harsh decision moments before half-time, awarding Borough a penalty after Joe Keehan went down in the penalty area under a Jay Lovett challenge that carried little venom. Former Rook Storey levelled matters at 1-1 with a perfect strike.

The drama continued even during the interval when Lewes assistant manager Stuart Cash was sent into the stand for remonstrating with officials.

A hamstring niggle meant that Amos Foyewa was not his usual bustling presence on the right side of midfield and he was replaced by Karl Beckford at the start of the second period. It was through this channel that Borough went ahead when the influential and pacy Yemi Odubade made a penetrating run before seeing his shot ricochet off Paul Wilkerson for Keehan to slot home comfortably.

And the Nigerian was centre stage in the game's second explosive incident when he clashed with Dean Hooper. Odubade appeared to be the guilty party but after an interminable delay it was the Lewes player who was penalised. Lewes were incensed and Hooper was given a red for an alleged clash with Borough striker Scott Ramsay.

The incident lit the touchpaper for Steve King, whose reactions saw him become the second member of the Lewes management team to be banished from the dugout.

It is to the Rooks's credit that even with nine men and no managerial presence they never let the floodgates open and Borough still consistently lost their shape.

The home side managed only one more goal against the depleted Lewes outfit when Mark Corneille slid a cross to Keehan, who scored his second of the game from close in.

Lewes: Wilkerson, Lovett, Hooper, Brennan, Hustwick (Legge), Sangare, Foyewa (Beckford), Gomis, Watkins, Sigere, Harkin. Subs not used: Watts, Omoyinmi, France.