Basingstoke Town 0, Weymouth 1

THE Nationwide South 2004-2005 season statistics will record this match as a Weymouth victory, thanks to Danny Byrne's 90th minute free-kick.

But such simple data doesn't get close to describing the truth about this Camrose classic.

There was a dramatic final involving a red card, another near sending off, and a wonderful set-piece deep into a huge nine minutes of injury time, added by referee Edward Martin.

The additional time meant ex-Manchester United youngster Byrne's goal actually came in the 98th minute of Saturday's nip and tuck affair, which Weymouth stole at the death to totally deflate the home support.

It was the cruellest of blows for Ernie Howe and his battling team, as a 0-0 draw looked on the cards.

The gutted Town boss was left to reflect upon what might have been when the final whistle came a minute after midfielder Byrne's effort.

He said: "I couldn't have asked for anything more from my players and I felt we deserved a point. After last weekend at Carshalton, I asked for a response and got it.

"But when officials want to be the stars of the game, there is nothing you can do, and I'm fed up talking about it.

"In both major incidents at the end, their lad was offside and the linesman wasn't up with play to make the right decision."

An already lively contest exploded five minutes from full-time, when Town's man-of-the-match Scott Tarr - who made a string of top stops - was left with no alternative but to impede Weymouth dangerman Ludovic Cadina.

The pacey ex-Anderlecht forward was a threat throughout, operating on the cusp of the defence, and escaped Town's offside calls to collect a pass and face Tarr in a one-on-one situation.

Although Neville Stamp looked to have played Cadina onside, the linesman was lagging behind and favoured the attacker, much to boss Howe's chagrin.

Tarr rushed outside the box to meet Cadina head on, but, as the 18-year-old knocked it past him, the 'keeper handled before running back with the player, pulling the young forward down inside the box.

A five-minute melee ensued, before the red card was rightly produced and a free-kick, not a penalty as Howe feared, was awarded.

When Matty Bound lashed it over the bar, an excellent point seemed destined, as 10-man Town battened down the hatches.

But as the clock ticked towards its conclusion, Cadina again found himself in yards of space, and replacement goalkeeper Mark Zawadski flew out of the area to scythe his opponent down.

A furious Weymouth bench reacted in disbelief when the substitute was only shown a yellow, but Byrne then produced a David Beckham-esque free-kick that sailed into the top-right corner.

While Weymouth's excellent support reacted with glee, the rest of the 603 crowd were left shell-shocked.

"It was a good game ruined by the ref in the end," said Howe. "Irrespective of the result, he was poor and got so many things wrong. He missed two blatant penalties, one for each side, in the first half."

Cadina was taken down by Ricky Allaway, while Neville Roach was tripped by Charlie Welch, after beating him in the right channel of the box.

Howe also bemoaned the failure to net in the 28th minute, when the crowd was up and down like a yo-yo.

Sergio Torres' great run and shot was charged down, and it fell for Cristian Levis in the area.

His cross was met by Roach, who headed onto the near post. The ball was cleared to new boy German De La Vega, who hammered a 20-yard swerving volley that Jason Matthews expertly saved one-handed diving to the left.

Even then, the rebound fell to Torres, whose next effort was cleared off the line.

Martin Whiddett claimed the looping ball with a header that was blocked, before Roach then fired over from close range.

"Goals change games and we're not getting those breaks in front of goal," said Howe. "We are finding goals hard to come by and we're on our worst run of the season, but we've got to keep plugging away.

"I'm not bitter about the result because I was more concerned about my side's performance. They played with commitment and belief and everyone saw that.

"If I continue to see that, and the fans do too, then we will get back on track, even if today's result is disappointing."

Basingstoke Town: Scott Tarr, Brett Cooper, Neville Stamp, Jason Bristow, Ricky Allaway, David Ray, Cristian Levis (Scott Smith 93 mins), Sergio Torres, Martin Whiddett, Neville Roach, German De La Vega (Mark Zawadski 86 mins). Not used: Jamie McClurg, Ryan Stephens, Nathan Stamp.