HISTON 2, Dorchester 0

ANDY Harris was sent off as Dorchester crashed 2-0 at Histon on Saturday in the Dr Martens League, Eastern Division.

Centre-half Harris received his marching orders for foul and abusive language in the second-half at Bridge Road.

Harris lost his cool after the Magpies conceded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area in the 71st minute.

Referee Gary Capps was poised to book the big defender but then changed direction to take advice from his linesman and subsequently flourished the red card.

Player-manager Mark Morris came on to plug the gap at the back and striker Matt Groves was withdrawn.

Nine minutes later, though, the ten men fell behind. Mark Ormerod failed to hold a routine 25-yard drive from home winger Neil Coburn, the ball squirming under the keeper's body.

Worse was to follow for the visitors. Second-half substitute Neil Kennedy netted three minutes into injury time to confirm Dorchester's second defeat of the league campaign.

Ormerod was called into action in the fifth minute, tipping Matt Hanniver's close-range toe-poke to safety.

Justin Keeler's shot was blocked by Roscoe Hipperson as Morris' men settled to their task on a heavily-sanded pitch.

Home striker Gary Walker was brilliantly denied by Harris in the 17th minute when the former Baldock man was advancing on goal. Harris whipped the ball off Walker's toes as he was taking aim.

Matt Groves fired inches over the bar following skipper Danny O'Hagan's flick on at the near post from Matt Holmes' corner.

Histon had a "goal" ruled out for offside in the 33rd minute. The Cambridgeshire side forced a succession of corners, putting a shaky-looking Ormerod under pressure. He twice came for the ball and twice missed. Michael White spared his keeper's blushes by kicking the ball off the goal-line following a goalmouth melee in the 39th minute.

Dorchester made a lively start to the second-half and Simon Radcliffe forced a marvellous one-handed save from Paul Barber with a rasping 20-yard shot.

Groves followed in but his prod was cleared off the goal-line by home midfielder Wayne Goddard.

Then Harris charged down Hanniver's goal-bound drive and the hosts respondedwith several long-range efforts.

When Harris was sent off, the Magpies were forced into a reshuffle. But after a Carl Poore shot was deflected conveniently into the arms of Barber they should have made it 1-1 in the last minute. Good work by Morris and Dorchester's star man Danny O'Hagan set up Marcus Oldbury but he fired straight at Barber.