Pollok’s top-of-the-table showdown against Rob Roy was billed as a potential classic by two sides who play the game for the football purist.

Yet this was indeed a memorable Newlandsfield encounter - but for all the wrong reasons.

The visitors headed back to Kirkintilloch with the three points courtesy of a 1-0 win.

But when the dust had finally most of the post-match chat centred around whistler Calum Haswell or more specifically his disfiguring of the Super Premier Division’s game of the day by dishing out 12 yellow and four red cards.

It goes without saying that Haswell’s dismissal of four Pollok players infuriated those of a Southside design.

However, victorious Rabs followers were not in the mood to overlook his apparent failings earlier in the contest which might have prevented the unholy fracas that erupted over the closing nine minutes.

They had roared from the very pits of their stomachs when Lok midfielder Findlay Frye, booked for persistent fouling in 24 minutes, was allowed to stay on the pitch after committing two further offences before the teams reached half-time.

And the veins on their necks bulged even further in the lead-up to the only goal of the game some five minutes into the restart when the previously yellow-carded Tam Hanlon appeared to deliberately handle the ball while grounded in attempting to prevent Rob Roy surging upfield.

A switch of play sent Paul Finnigan scampering clear on the right and his searching cross skimmed the top of Lok centre-back Chris Walker’s head before landing at the feet of Rabs striker Kevin Watt.

And his sublime first touch set him up for a searing shot into the far corner of the net beyond diving goalkeeper Jordan Longmuir.

Rabs No.2 Paul Ronald, making a decent fist of looking after dugout matters in the absence of suspended boss Stewart Maxwell, said: “The referee deserves great credit for playing advantage, but the fact we scored should not have stopped him going back and booking the Pollok player.

“I said so to his assistant but he just blanked me.”

At this point in proceedings, the crime count stood at a mere four yellow cards to Pollok players - Colin Williamson, Frye and Hanlon for first half misdemeanours plus substitute John Sweeney for ill-advised comments made to the referee during the interval that would come back to haunt him.

Visiting centre-back Davie Barr wasted a glorious opportunity to double his side’s advantage when blasting high over the crossbar from six yards range.

And only a magnificent one-handed save from Rabs No.1 Jordan Brown averted a certain equaliser as Pollok winger Derek Hepburn's shot came at him through a ruck of players.

Little in the way of goalmouth action then followed before Sweeney’s introduction off the bench with quarter of an hour left to play.

But it proved proved a short-lived display after his tangling with outstanding Rob Roy playmaker Gary McMenamin in a “handbags at dawn” type confrontation saw whistler Haswell reach for his pocket again and brandish yellows to both players thus sending Sweeney inside.

Astonishingly, ten men became nine just three minutes later as the normally even-tempered Mark Sideserf walked for a second yellow offence.

Yet this depleted Pollok side looked to have salvaged a point against all the odds when their next foray into the visiting penalty box saw goalkeeper Longmuir’s free kick headed powerfully home by Walker whose goal celebrations were cut short by the assistant referee’s raised flag indicating offside.

The cruel blows were not yet at an end for Pollok as injury-time descended into mayhem after Rob Roy winger Chris Duff’s lunging tackle on the backtracking Alan McKenzie brought an angry reaction and a push in the face that earned the Pollok man a straight red card and caused angry confrontations between both sets of players.

Only when peace was finally restored did Haswell spot his assistant’s upraised flag.

And that short confab about the aforesaid melee led to him red-carding Walker to leave Pollok finishing the game with only seven players.

A smiling Ronald said later: “We knew Pollok would try to prevent our flair players getting on the ball and stressed the need at training all week for the guys to be very disciplined.

“They were magnificent and none more so than Gary McMenaim, who never let the red mist come down despite taking countless kicks and bruises.”

Lok gaffer Tony McInally did not attempt to gloss over his own side’s inadequacies when speaking afterwards.

He said: “We’ve been off the boil for a number of weeks and were not at it again today.

"However, the fact our goalkeeper has not had a single save to make is an indication of how both sides cancelled each other out.

“And let me say the only bad tackle out there today was the lad Duff’s two-footed challenge that led to Alan McKenzie’s sending off.

"Yet Duff was not even spoken to by a referee, whose decision making has frustrated both sets of players throughout the match.

“Supporters behind me in the crowd felt he was totally out of his depth and I wouldn’t disagree because it disrespects players when referees resort to controlling a game by card alone.“

In other top flight games, Auchinleck Talbot had Keir Milliken to thank for a 1-0 win away to Irvine Meadow while John Paul Boyle was the marksman as Glenafton got the better of Troon.

Craig Halliday’s second-half score earned Shettleston a 2-2 draw with Arthurlie and Ryan Borris ,Danny Mitchell , Stewart Kean and a Fraser McGhee own goal saw Hurlford United win 4-1 at home to Petershill whose consolation score came from Michael Daly.