Frome Town 3, Barnstaple Town 0

THREE goals, a 20-man brawl and two red cards gave the Frome faithful something to shout about on Saturday.

Another emphatic home victory left the Robins' supporters in good voice, but manager Andy Crabtree refused to do any singing after the final whistle.

The Badgers Hill boss was angry with his goalkeeper Ray Johnston, who needlessly sprinted 30 yards to get involved in a fracas on the half-way line.

Johnston and Barnstaple midfielder Shaun Goff were given their marching orders after both sets of players reacted to a desperate lunge on Frome's Jamie Cheeseman.

Crabtree said: "I was disappointed with Ray. He ought to know better than to get involved and for me it overshadowed the performance.

"Ray says he didn't throw a punch but the minute you raise your hands you're asking for trouble.

"It's not just the incident but it's also the knock-on effect this will have. Ray's now going to miss the FA Vase game against Lymington because of something mindless and silly."

Frome began the game on top and took a deserved lead after just 10 minutes. Skipper Jon Crowley was bundled over on the edge of the box and Gavin Eyre fired home a superb free-kick.

The former Melksham man produced an almost identical strike moments later, but this time the ball rebounded off the post to safety.

Mark Salter should have put Frome two goals clear when he raced onto a perfect pass from Simeon Allison, only to fire inches wide of the target.

Goff produced Barnstaple's best moment of the first half when his free-kick rattled the upright.

Sam Duggan went close for Frome before the game turned sour after 55 minutes. The challenge on Cheeseman was crude and the Frome players took exception, sparking a mass brawl in the middle of the pitch.

After Johnston was sentenced to an early bath, Matt Cowler took the gloves and the midfielder was rarely troubled in the 35 minutes he spent between the posts.

Salter gave the Robins some breathing space with 18 minutes remaining when he turned in Eyre's low cross.

The Weston-super-Mare, Mangotsfield and Team Bath target was denied a second shortly after when Steve Johns in the Barnstaple goal saved superbly.

Johns then reacted smartly to deny substitute Steve Bridges with a fine double save before Salter sealed the points with a stoppage time strike.

Johnston's sending off aside, Crabtree said he was delighted with the performance of his players.

He said: "We had chances late in the game to make the scoreline even more emphatic.

"Even so, it was a great result for us. These are the games you have to win if you want to challenge in this league.

"We got stuck in from the first whistle and we held our nerve."

Frome Town officials showed their sensitive side on Saturday when they donated the proceeds of the raffle to midfielder Joe Gomes, who suffered a potentially career-threatening knee injury at Devizes last week.

Crabtree revealed the players have also agreed to have a collection for their stricken team-mate.

"We know it's not much but Joe deserves some sort of compensation. Everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery."