The referee took centre stage as Met Police's promotion hopes were dented at Tooting & Mitcham on Saturday, writes Cliff Travis.

The Blues were beneficiaries of the first controversy inside two minutes when Rob Haworth was judged to have been pulled back by Daniel Nwanze.

Kevin Cooper made no mistake from the box.

Twenty minutes later, the Police had been awarded a free kick after a Tooting corner, only for the referee to be called over by his assistant.

Not even the Tooting fans behind the goal had seen the incident which saw the referee reverse his decision and award a penalty, which John Hastings converted.

Scott Kinch put Tooting in front with a volley before both sides were reduced to 10 men.

Stuart Harte was given the red card for retaliating to Steve Symes' foul, which earned him a yellow card. Symes was then shown a straight red card for using foul language.

A great solo run from James Husband saw Tooting go 3-1 ahead before the break.

The second half was something of an anti-climax although Craig Brown pulled one back for the Police with 10 minutes left.

Then Dave Newman's fine header was tipped over by Tooting keeper Jonty Venter, who also made a fine save from Cooper's 15-yard drive.

In the last incident of the game, Haworth's 10-yard volley beat Venter, only to be headed off the line.

Met Police are at home to Bromley in Ryman League Division One on Wednesday, December 29.