Accrington Stanley kept up their play-off hopes after a dominant win over Crawley Town, but the match was marred by three red cards.
The Reds trailed 1-0 at the break thanks to a strike from Gwion Edwards, but goals from Billy Kee, Matty Pearson, Seamus Conneely and Piero Mingoia saw Accrington turn things around.
The main talking point though was a melee between Shay McCartan and Crawley’s Simon Walton which saw both men sent off, with Stanley substitute goalkeeper Jason Mooney also given a red card after he raced onto the pitch and allegedly got involved in the brawl.
Crawley were second best during the opening stages but they managed to take the lead on 21 minutes.
The ball fell kindly to Edwards on the edge of the box, allowing him to fire past Ross Etheridge to make it 1-0.
That’s how it stayed until the second half, but Kee managed to level things up on 48 minutes when he tapped home from close range to equalise.
Then came the brawl that overshadowed the game. McCartan’s late challenge on Jon Ashton resulted in a melee between both sets of players, with McCartan, Walton and substitute Mooney all dismissed for their involvement.
Accrington were the better team after the incident and they went ahead when Pearson scored to make it 2-1 on 73 minutes.
Late goals from Conneely and Mingoia put the finishing touches on the win, helping the Reds pick up a dominant 4-1 victory at the Wham Stadium.
Stanley starting line-up: Etheridge; Halliday, Wright Pearson, Buxton; Conneely, Crooks (Boco 90); Mingoia, McCartan, McConville (Procter 90); Kee
Subs not used: Mooney, Davies, Wakefield, Brown, Gornell
