Hucknall Town 4 Redditch United 1

THE brave few fans who followed Reds on this trip to Nottinghamshire must be wondering if anything else can go wrong this season.

Dumped out of every competition and languishing in the lower reaches of the Conference North table, the Redditch players again managed to find the self-destruct button as three were given their marching orders in a game that deserved better from the officials.

Defensive errors had allowed Hucknall to open up a 2-0 interval lead but the visitors were handed a lifeline by a Scott Rickards penalty midway through the second half.

And even when the home side added a third, a Redditch fightback looked a possibility. But that was with the full quota on the field.

With 15 minutes to go, a challenge from Hucknall's Steven Palmer prompted a free-for-all as the Redditch players tried in vain to get the ball back from their opponents.

Matty Clarke and home defender Chris Beech were first to go after picking up second yellow cards. Referee Mellor then appeared to like being the centre of attention as he produced two more red cards, for United pair Asa Charlton and Rickards.

After being shepherded off the pitch by a posse of stewards, Mr Mellor refused to discuss the dismissals after the game, choosing instead to sit tight in his dressing room before making a swift exit from the Watnall Road ground.

United manager Rod Brown missed Mellor's early panto pranks through illness, leaving assistant boss Gary Whild to try and shine a light on the proceedings.

"I saw the original tackle from the Hucknall player which was a yellow card, nothing more, but then it was a case of handbags with the referee waving yellow and red cards," he explained.

"In that situation, you should just get on with the game and everything blows over but for some reason he didn't see it like that.

"At that time there were that many cards flashing around he had obviously got the season right - Christmas!"

And Whild added that the triple sending off would cause a problem for a side that managed to field just four substitutes at Hucknall, and one of those was substitute keeper Ryan Cornelius.

"It is unfortunate not just because of the result but also a month down the line when you have three or four players out," he said.

"But we need to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves down and make sure we are ready to go again next Saturday."

Despite Craig Nelthorpe and Mark Ward punishing some sloppy Redditch defending inside the first 20 minutes, there was little to choose between the sides, with Hucknall keeper James Lindley keeping his side's lead in tact as he denied Paul Moore three times in the opening half-hour.

Rickards netted United's penalty on 68 minutes following a foul on Craig Wilding but Ward neatly finished from 25 yards to open up a 3-1 lead five minutes later.

Down to eight men for the final stages, United continued to push in search of an opening and Wilding was close with an overhead kick moments before Robert Gill added a fourth for Hucknall in injury time.

Hucknall: Lindley, Asher, Beech, Rowland (Timons 45), Sucharewycz, Cooke, Groves, Palmer, Ward (Nangle 90), Gill, HNELTHORPE. Subs (not used): Smith, Ricketts, Mellars.

Reds: Vaughan 5, Clarke 6, Charlton 4, Creighton 5, Pearce 6, HTAYLOR 7, Broad 6, Hollis 5 (King 62, 6), Wilding 6, Rickards 5, Moore 4. Subs (not used): Doyle, Dann, Cornelius.

Referee: Mr G Mellor (Rotherham)

Attendance: 397