Enfield 3 Basingstoke Town 1

ERNIE Howe branded his goalkeeper and captain Scott Tarr "irresponsible" after he was dismissed for stamping on Demba Traore.

Blues manager Howe was furious with Tarr for his injury-time red card, the culmination of 15 minutes' pure anarchy.

Town, right back in it at 2-1 after Neville Stamp's brilliant 75th minute strike, were distracted from getting an equaliser as the match degenerated into violence. The referee failed to take control and punish guilty players as both sides made some horrendous two-footed challenges.

Sean Gorman started it with a wild lunge on Jay Richardson, igniting the hostility that had been simmering most of the game against physical Enfield.

Home defender Lee Richardson threw a punch at the Town striker but both escaped amid the huddled masses pushing and shoving each other.

From that point, the tackles went flying in. Kevin Gibbens, Lee Richardson, Ian Dickens and Stuart Maynard were all lucky to be booked and stay on as the referee finally found his top pocket.

But the bad blood continued and it was Tarr who got the red card that was undoubtedly coming.

After punching the ball away from a corner under pressure from Traore, the duo tangled as play moved upfield. But it was brought back to the six-yard area after the assistant referee spotted Tarr stamp on Traore as he got up.

After discussions with the referee, out came the red and a penalty was awarded. Traore only just put it past young Town 'keeper David Oliver to seal Enfield's 3-1 win.

Attempting to explain his actions, Tarr said: "The guy has hit me in the face and I've given one back. He made a meal of it and has gone down squealing like a girl but I have lost it and kicked out at him."

Town now face a goalkeeping nightmare with no recognised number two at the club. Tarr misses crucial games against Chesham, Billericay and Harrow.

Town assistant manager Pete Peters said: "As captain of the side, he has let us all down but worse is that he isn't showing any remorse for the difficult situation he has put us in."

Despite an impressive opening 20 minutes, it was a muted Town display, compounded by defensive indecision and mistakes.

A mix-up between Tarr and Ian Dickens led to the defender heading into his own goal in the 21st minute, following a lofted ball in by Jay Richardson.

And Tarr was at fault for the second. After controlling a high and curling back-pass from Stamp in the 60th minute, his subsequent poor kick went straight to Paul Armstrong.

The Enfield striker had the simple task of breaking forward and side-footing into the bottom corner.

Galvanised by the introduction of Gorman in a 4-3-3 formation, Town's only highlight came with Stamp's goal. An indirect free-kick for a foul on Alex Ewin, 20 yards out, was brutally dispatched into the top left corner.

For once, however, Town lost their discipline and failed to channel their ability in the correct manner, leading Howe to sum up: "We have gifted them all three goals.

"If we had showed a little bit of that later aggression earlier on, we wouldn't have had this result."

Town are next in action tomorrow (7.45pm) against Andover in a re-arranged Hampshire Senior Cup quarter-final at Portway Stadium.

Enfield: M Palmer, M Waldman, D Braithwaite, L Richardson, D Reddington, P Clarke, S Maynard, J Richardson (sub L Doherty 86min), D Traore, P Armstrong, A Owusu (sub N Morgan 68min). Subs not used: J Hammond, S Mark-Dennis, M Kalli.

Basingstoke Town: S Tarr, D Ray, N Stamp, K Gibbens, I Dickens, R Allaway, G Howes (sub S Gorman 69min), E Elad, C McAllister, N Roach, A Ewin (sub D Oliver 90min). Subs not used: S Hemmings, T Sumner.

Attendance: 101