Stevenage 3 Crawley 1.

Stevenage boss Peter Taylor insisted Crawley goalkeeper Ashley Bayes should not have been sent off for deliberate handball, even though the controversial decision helped his side to a much-needed win.

Bayes was shown a straight red card after just five minutes of the Blue Square premier clash at Broadhall Way for handling outside his area.

With no substitute keeper on the bench, defender James Krause and then midfielder Dannie Bulman filled in between the posts as Reds spent the rest of the game on a damage limitation exercise.

Crawley finished the game with nine men after Krause was also sent off for a second bookable offence in the second half.

Taylo was relieved to see his play-off chasers pick up three points after six games without a win.

But he understood Reds' frustrations and reckons the decision which effectively handed his side victory was wrong.

The former England caretaker and Albion boss said: "I hope for everyone's sakes that we don't look back at the video and see he was inside the box because if that was the case then it was really harsh.

"I think they should change that rule because it is so tight. You never know if you get it 100 per cent right or 100 per cent wrong. I think it should be a yellow card because it is not as if the goalkeeper is trying to take liberties.

"If someone is running through and he brings him down then that is a red, it is totally different. But with a handling offence that could be an inch outside the box, it is harsh to get a red."

It was unclear whether the ball was inside or outside the area when Bayes opted to grab it from striker Steve Morison rather than hoof it clear.

The flagging linesman brought the incident to the attention of the referee, who consulted the assistant before flashing red.

Bayes was adamant he had done nothing wrong and needed to be escorted off the pitch as he tore off his jersey and gloves in disgust.

Evans was furiouy but used a novel way to f expressing his irritation.

Having regularly found himself blasting officials during Crawley's losing streak, he decided to use sarcasm to avoid getting into further trouble for ref-bashing.

Evans, tongue firmly in cheek, said: "I think the referee and the stand-side linesman were absolutely tremendous, they are the best officials I have ever seen.

"In open play they got their angles right and they would have gone home very proud of their performance.

"They were outstanding from start to finish, they got every decision right and he (the referee) can be rightfully proud that his promotion to the Football League is around the corner. We wish him every success at Crawley Town."

Despite their frustrations following a fifth consecutive defeat, Reds can take encouragement from their performance.With Bulman producing heroics in goal, they held their own and at times outplayed Stevenage with ten men.

They did not look a team who have any intentions of cruising through the rest of the season even though they now have little to play for.

Evans said: "We went toe-to-toe with Stevenage with ten and nine men. Peter Taylor said to me we had a raw day and that summed it up.

"With ten men we caused them all sorts of problems and I can't remember them having many chances.

"Defensively we were very good but you can't come to grounds like that and have an afternoon like we did and expect to get anything from it."

Bulman was the stand-out performer after surprising everyone, probably including himself, by showing how good a goalkeeper he can be.

He took over the gloves from Krause after 20 minutes and pulled off a string of good saves, including one outstanding full-length parry from a Daryl McMahon free kick late on.

Krause, to his credit, had originally volunteered h but it was soon clear he is a better defender than goalie.

His first job was to pick the ball out of the net as Stevenage immediately capitalised on Bayes' dismissal.

Peter Vincenti gave the stand-in stopper no chance with a rasping drive from 20 yards.

For a while, a cricket score looked on the cards, especially when Krause fumbled a weak shot from John Martin just wide and then flapped at a header from Morison which hit a post.

But once Bulman took up the gloves, Reds grew in confidence and played some good football.

They twice went close through Josh Dutton-Black and Jon-Paul Pittman, before Bulman was beaten by an unstoppable rising shot from Gavin Grant on 36 minutes.

Pittman gave Reds hope with an impressive solo strike just before the break when he ran 50 yards past two defenders and tucked the ball into the bottom corner.

The visitors remained in the game until the 74th minute when Krause was shown his second yellow for jumping into a tackle on Grant. Morison sealed the points eight minutes from time with a volley from the edge of the area.

Stevenage: Julian, Murray, Smith, Westwood, Cole (Rankine 70), Wilson, Martin, Moore (McMahon 76), Morison, Vincenti, Grant (John 84). Subs not used: Laird, Masters.

Booked: Cole (56) foul, Morison (58) foul.

Crawley: Bayes, Wilson, Stevens, Shimmin (Dutton-Black 20, Carayol 80), Cook, Bulman, James, Blackburn, Vieira (Thomas 8), Pittman. Subs not used: Thompson, Pinault.

Booked: Wilson (41) foul, Krause (45) foul, (74) foul, James (75) dissent, Pittman (77) foul.

Sent off: Bayes (5) deliberate handball, Krause (74) second bookable offence.

Was it harsh to send off Ashley Bayes?