Goals, red cards, sin bins, penalties and a referee in the spotlight

Clevedon Town will definitely not be on the Christmas card list for the players of Barnstaple Town after a crazy Western League match ended in a chaotic defeat for Barum.

On paper, it was always going to be a very tough game at a Clevedon side chasing down leaders Torpoint Athletic, but Barum started brightly enough, Brodie Montague having a goal chalked off for offside, and so the afternoon fun began with the match officials.

Both sides created chances before Lee Gardiner was booked midway through the first half, more on him later, and the opening 45 minutes concluded with Clevedon grabbing the lead courtesy of a super strike.

After the break, chaos ensued.

Barum were dished out a few more bookings before drawing level through Luke Mortimore on 71 minutes. Unfortunately, Clevedon immediately went up the other end to restore their lead.

The home side were handed a highly debatable penalty, with Joe Grigg also shown a second yellow in the process. The Barum protests, while understandable, crossed the line in the view of the referee, who sent goalkeeper Mike Searle to the sin bin.

It all meant an outfield substitute going in goal to face the spot-kick, duly converted to make the scores 3-1. Searle returned ten minutes later and Barum had hope when Tommy Rogers reduced the arrears on 90 minutes.

Unfortunately, the referee still wanted more of the limelight, showing a second yellow to Gardiner for an extremely harsh red. Montague voiced his disapproval and was sent to the sin bin, leaving Barum with eight men on the pitch to complete a bizarre day.

“I’m speechless after what I’ve witnessed today,” said Barum boss Ben Potter. “I can’t find the right words to say how I feel about that.

“We worked hard and got better in the second half but it was ruined by an individual. The penalty wasn’t a penalty, Lee Gardiner won a clear tackle and was sent off, so very frustrating. I can’t believe that is what we have to deal with.”

Barum host Helston Athletic at Mill Road this weekend.

In stark contrast to the chaos at Clevedon, Bideford AFC played out a relatively sedate 0-0 draw at Didcot in the Southern League.

Shaun Semmens produced a decent early save to repel the hosts but the opening half-hour was really about a midfield tussle, with few real openings at either end. Semmens pulled out another block and Didcot also headed wide from a good position to complete the opening 45 minutes.

Finn Roberts laid down an early marker after the break with a super strike just inches off target before the same man in red poked wide on the hour after good play from Scott Robinson and Javan Wright.

Jamie Hearsay had an effort cleared off the line and Didcot also struck the post in a frantic conclusion, but a draw was probably the right result. Bideford now sit one point above the relegation zone and host Frome Town on Saturday after the midweek trip to Portishead.