Crawley moved to within a point of Blue Square Bet premier leaders AFC Wimbledon after thrashing nine-man Histon 5-0 at the Broadfield.

The first 20 minutes were fairly quiet but the game changed when Histon keeper Joe Welch brought down Matt Tubbs after he'd raced clear. Welch was sent off and Tubbs scored his 29th goal of the season from the resultant penalty.

Reds had plenty of other chances before they doubled their lead just before the break when Ben Smith volleyed in Dean Howell's cross.

Craig McAllister and sub Josh Simpson both struck the woodwork before three goals in the last 13 minutes gave the scoreline a more realistic look.

Simpson scored his first goal for the club on 77 when he turned a defender before firing past sub keeper George Lawton.

David Hunt produced a stunning volley from the edge of the box (81) to make irt 4-0 and Gibson became the third player to score their first goal for the club when he beat Lawton with a ferocious free kick two minutes from time.

By then Histon were down to nine men after Lee Wooten was shown a straight red for raising his hands at Richard Brodie.

Assistant manager Paul Raynor said: "You can't have any complaints about a 5-0 win at home.

"We're delighted with three points and with AFC Wimbledon losing and Luton drawing things have gone our way elsewhere.

"All we can do is worry about ourselves. We are just looking to accumulate as many points as possible and keep the unbeaten league run going."

The only disappointment for Reds was a first-half booking for defender John Dempster who is now banned for Tuesday's trip to Kidderminster.