DARWEN moved up to tenth place in the North West Counties Second Division after a narrow victory over Blackpool Mechanics at the Anchor Ground.
A Paul Aldred penalty two minutes from time ensured the hosts took all three from a game that was low on chances but high on tension.
The first 88 minutes of the match passed without incident before Neil Zarac was felled in the box and all hell broke loose.
The offending Mechanics players saw red, along with his manager and a team-mate, who both disputed the referee's decision a little too vehemently.
Darwen boss Stephen Mullen said: "I felt we just about deserved the win as Blackpool obviously played for a draw and never really troubled us.
"The only way we could have lost the game was by conceding a silly goal but thankfully we kept our concentration, played until the very end and ultimately got our reward."
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