Accrington Stanley 1 Hartlepool 2

And, in a lesser way, it happened again on Saturday to Accrington Stanley.

Referee Steve Bratt's assumption that Jay Harris had deliberately spat at Hartlepool defender Michael Nelson was enough to get the Reds man sent off and condemn Stanley to their fourth league defeat on the spin.

There was no need for a second opinion, or actually seeing Harris do it, for Mr Bratt.

All it took was a blob of spit on Michael Nelson's shorts, amidst 22 saliva-slinging blokes, to condemn Harris to the ultimate penalty on the football field, as the visitors were staring down the barrel of another defeat.

On this showing, I certainly wouldn't want Mr Bratt presiding over any trial I was involved in!

But for the referee's intervention, Stanley might have recorded a win, instead of slipping to their fifth defeat in six games.

But the reality is that Hartlepool's late double saw the three points head north east at the final whistle, and John Coleman to the referee to give him a piece of his mind.

Maybe he felt like stringing up Mr Bratt, much in the same way the folk of Hartlepool did to a poor monkey they believed to be a French spy during the Napoleonic wars.

But that's football, and it overshadowed an action-packed afternoon at the Fraser Eagle Stadium.

Hartlepool started the brighter on a soggy day in Accrington and, but for better finishing by Jon Daly and Gary Liddle, they could have taken an early lead.

Stanley's first chance came in the seventh minute when Ian Craney's free kick from the edge of the area brought a scrambling stop from Pools keeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.

The weather and slick surface was playing its part on the quality of football on show with Pools' finishing leaving a lot to be desired.

Liddle smashed a shot over the bar from the edge of the area on 26 minutes, and then Matty Robson tested Ian Dunbavin with a long-range drive that the keeper was equal to.

But, somewhat against the run of play, it was Stanley who took the lead six minutes before the break with a well-worked goal.

Craney, on the right, had a cheeky back heel inside to Andy Todd, who rode a couple of challenges before despatching his shot beyond Konstantopoulos.

Craney tested the Pools keeper again a minute later and Nelson, soon to become the villain of the piece, tested Dunbavin with a good header just before the break.

With both sides on losing streaks of late, the stakes were high.

And it was Hartlepool who looked as if they had had their ears warmed on this cold day by manager Danny Wilson as they took the game to their hosts right from the start of the second half.

Hartlepool drove Stanley back and piled pressure on the hosts, but again wasted the chances that came their way.

On the hour, Ali Gibb became the latest culprit when he took advantage of a static Stanley defence, but his attempted lob over the on-rushing Dunbavin was woefully wide.

And at the other end, Stanley spurned a gilt-edged chance to double their advantage.

Todd broke down the right and whipped the ball into Harris six yards out, but the Stanley man badly scuffed his shot.

The ball fell to Paul Mullin, but his shot on the turn bobbled agonisingly wide.

But then came the incident that turned the game on its head.

With 20 minutes remaining, Hartlepool were awarded a free kick on the edge of their own area.

Strapping defender Nelson, as he attempted to get the ball back, ran 15 yards before balking the diminutive Harris and retrieved the ball.

Then, all of a sudden, Nelson started pointing to the left leg of his shorts and almost immediately the referee pointed Harris towards the changing rooms as he held aloft the red card - much to the astonishment of all inside the stadium.

Mr Bratt consulted both assistant referees once Harris had disappeared, before one of them fled into the dressing rooms.

Some thought he had gone to retrieve the Stanley man, but he appeared moments later without Harris.

Nelson got away without punishment for his bodily assault on Harris and Stanley were down to ten men.

And the dismissal appeared to knock the stuffing out the Reds.

Richie Humphreys forced a good save on 74 minutes, but a minute later, Pools were level.

A ball into the box was cleared by the Stanley defence, but only as far as substitute Eifion Williams, who controlled the ball, before lashing a great volley into the top corner from 25 yards out.

The goal gave Pools the lift they needed and gave them the confidence to pour forward in numbers.

Eight minutes from time, Liddle played the ball into teenager James Brown who beat a couple of men before smashing his shot off the bar.

The ball rebounded to the feet of Daly, but his shot was somehow stopped on the line by Williams and the big defender was able to clear.

But the worst was still to come in the first of five minutes of added time - and Stanley contributed to their downfall.

The Reds defence allowed left back Humphreys to charge forward from his own half and when he got in range, the Pools man pulled the trigger and beat Dunbavin with a crisp left-foot finish, which nestled into the bottom corner.

The ten men of Stanley threw everything they had at the visitors, but all to no avail as Pools held out for the win.

And at the final whistle, the home faithful let Mr Bratt know exactly how they felt on his showing.

But bellyaching won't bring the points back and John Coleman and his team will need to get over this latest reverse quickly before they visit Grimsby at the weekend.

It just goes to show how big a part referee's play in the beautiful game.