Careless Crawley tossed away a 2-0 lead and had goalkeeper Andy Little sent off as they were held to a 3-3 home draw by Chelmsford in the premier division.

Little could have no complaints about Hove referee Matthew Knight's decision to show him a straight red when he sent Danny Hockton sprawling outside the box in the 72nd minute after the Chelmsford striker had latched onto Nigel Brake's loose pass.

Ian Payne went in goal but had no chance when another defensive mistake, this time by Warren Waugh, allowed Paul McCarthy to make it 2-2 with a 20 yard effort nine minutes from time.

More dodgy defending gave Kevin Dobinson the opportunity to put the visitors 3-2 ahead with three minutes remaining, but Waugh rescued a point in injury time when he prodded home after skipper Keith Sharman had headed the ball into his path.

Sharman's first half double appeared to have secured a comfortable victory for a Crawley side anxious to build on Saturday's eye-catching win at Kettering.

The big defender headed home Brake's 20th minute corner and then floated a second into the top corner from the right-hand edge of the box in first half injury time.

Crawley were lethargic in the second half and alarm bells began ringing when Hockton got behind a square defence to began the fightback on 66 minutes.

Reds boss Billy Smith had no complaints with Little's dismissal but said: "You can't expect to give goals away like we did and get away with it. If it happens and we keep getting punished the players concerned won't get picked, it's as simple as that."