ANOTHER week, another refereeing storm.
After Richard Ball's winning goal that never was' at Mangotsfield, the last thing Rovers needed was further reason for confrontation with the man in black.
Seven days on from the controversy in Bristol, resentment and frustration were still looming large at both boardroom and dugout levels.
This was evident from the matchday programme notes in which chairman Tom Herbert likened the decision to blow the final whistle on Ball's strike to Clive Thomas denying the great Brazilian Zico against Sweden in 1978.
"Before anyone mentions about things evening themselves out over the course of the season, that does not wash with me," added Herbert.
"Some things never get evened out, it's what happens on the day that counts."
Not a man to mince his words, manager Duane Darby's feelings were plain and simple, stating he "felt so robbed" by the incident.
Just as Herbert and Darby seemed to be getting the Cossham Street debacle out of their system, along came Mr SP Bennett.
While Rovers had made an encouraging start to this game, they paid the price in the second-half for a combination of sloppy defending and a controversial decision from the official.
Seven minutes of madness - probably the darkest of Darby's reign - ultimately shot them to pieces.
Bennett harshly dismissed Karl Lewis for handling outside his penalty area, and Darby was banished from the touchline for his protests minutes later.
Stripped of their goalkeeper and their leader, the Greens kissed goodbye their chance of three points in one foul swoop.
Amidst the fury, controversy and flaring of tempers, this contest also submitted its own feature-length entry into the Who'd Be A Goalkeeper?' files.
Corby's Martin Davies paid the price for his impressive athleticism when he beat away Matt Birley's firm long-range effort shortly before the break.
Davies stayed down for several minutes and without an understudy on the bench, Corby were forced to hand midfielder Ian Nimmo goalkeeping duties for the rest of the game.
But it was Lewis' departure from the field that ignited the game.
He came dashing from his goal as Tony Battersby beat the offside trap in pursuit of Nimmo's long clearance.
Lewis seemed to do his utmost to keep his hands down by his side, before the ball bounced up and brushed his midriff.
Referee Bennett looked to have waved away the Corby protests, but reacted to a late flag from his hesistant assistant. A red card was shown to Lewis, and Chris Mole was handed a baptism of fire.
And Rovers fans will spare a thought for the youngster.
His first act on his league debut was a struggle to scramble away Daniel French's corner, while his second was to pick the ball out of the net.
Steven Diggin slipped the offside trap once too often and comfortably tucked the ball past a helpless Mole. Furious Darby continued to vent his anger and was ordered to watch the rest of the game from the stand.
Clearly affected by the loss of Lewis, Rovers looked confused and disjointed as Diggin doubled the visitors' lead.
Again the goal came from a ball played in behind the defence, and this time French pulled back to leave Diggin with a simple finish.
It was, in fact, too easy for Diggin, and a measure of how Rovers had let the game's controversial moment get the better of them.
ROVERS: Lewis 6, McHale 5, Hines 7, Cornes 7 (Benbow 5, 85 mins), Knight 5, Burgess 6, Downing 6 (Mole 5, 69 mins), Bridgwater 7, Ball 5 (Albutt 6, 23 mins), Jakab 6, BIRLEY 7. Unused subs: Cotterill, Woolf.
CORBY: Davies (Hughes, 44 mins), Diyk, Watt, Wall, Glarvey, Maddox, Nicell (Difante, 66 mins), Nimmo, Battersby, Diggin, French (Hallows, 83 mins). Unused subs: Wykes, Gould.
Referee: Mr SP Bennett. Attendance: 504. |