EIGHT OFF AS MATCH IS ABANDONED

Both sides will now await the referee's report on a bad tempered match that also saw Malmesbury's assistant manager Andy Wicks dismissed along with two Oldland players, making a total of eight red cards in all.

Oldland went into the game missing most of their regular first team squad and fielding two teenagers in their starting line up plus three more on the bench. There was also a debut for striker Danny Carter (pictured), a familiar face at the club who was returning to Castle Road.

The first half was evenly contested and with little sign of the drama to follow after the break. Oldland were attempting to reverse a run of form that had seen them win one league game in the last eleven while the hosts, Malmesbury, were on a mixed run of results yet still sitting in fifth place in the table.

After the break, Malmesbury took the lead on fifty minutes through Sam Parker, O's keeper George Dempsey injuring an arm in the process but okay to carry on. But then the match turned when a Malmesbury player went in late on Cash Vinall and earned himself a red card for his trouble. As the 17-year-old laid injured on the floor, there was some unneceesary comments coming over the PA system which hardly calmed the situation down and it was little surprise when Vinall and another Malmesbury player then clashed, with a second yellow (and then red) shown to Vinall with a straight red shown to the Malmesbury player.

With a quarter of an hour remaining, Vics were reduced to eight men after a third red card was issued and the two man advantage began to pay as with five minutes to go, Danny Carter equalised on his debut. This put the wind into Oldland's sails but the game then turned ugly again almost immediately. Sub Jack Knowlson had come on in the 60th minute for Owen McCallum and he was the victim of another bad tackle which saw a fourth Malmesbury player sent off. Knowlson, on the floor after the challenge, was then kicked in the back by another Vics player and reacted, with ref Adam Baker sending both players off.

This left Oldland with nine players and Malmesbury with just six so under the laws of the game, the offical had no alternative to abandon the game. The match had two minutes of the ninety left plus a hefty portion of "stoppage" time and with the two man superiority, Oldland would have fancied themselves to complete a second win in twelve. At some point, the assistant manager of the home side, Andy Wicks, was also dismissed.

The official had no option with any of the red cards and officiated in near-impossible circumstances very well. The subsequent investigation will follow the official's report and it is hoped that the correct outcome will be reached by the authorities.