The match was reasonably quiet until the end of the first half when the Tigers took the lead, but in the second period the action exploded with a sending off for Matty Cohen and three goals in the space of four minutes as the Scholars’ playoff hopes were dealt another blow.

Chasetown were on the attack right from the kick-off with Ramone Stephens crossing from the right to allow Ben Jevons to volley into the box but the ball was gathered by Tigers keeper Jon Kennedy.

Luke Shiels deflected Danny Smith’s fifth-minute shot away for a corner before Darren Acton saw his first action in the Scholars goal to pluck the ball from the feet of Shiels as he cut in from the left.

Chasetown continued to enjoy the better of the first half action with Smith leading the attack, a period of good passing play in the 19th minute seeing Jevons break through only to be halted by the offside flag, while five minutes later Jevons was looking to tap in Smith’s shot but keeper Kennedy got there first.

Player-manager Martin McIntosh headed wide from a Tigers corner in the 27th minute before a free kick from the left from Chris Bettney flew straight to Acton after Chris Slater had departed injured and was replaced by Cohen.

Worksop began to fight their way back into the swing of things in the closing minutes of the half, Ben Tomlinson shooting wide from a Bettney long ball, but in the final minute of the half the visitors took the lead when skipper Matt Young dummied around Cohen allowing Mark Thompson to blast the ball past Acton from 18 yards.

Three minutes into the second half and the Tigers had doubled their lead, Ben Tomlinson pulling the ball back to allow Young to calmly fire the ball past Acton and into the net.

Chasetown tried to fight back with Cohen heading a Mark Branch free kick wide in the 54th minute before vociferous penalty appeals from the Scholars for handball were waved away as they were when Smith was brought down on the hour mark.

Cohen then headed over the bar as the Scholars began to push harder, and on 65 minutes the breakthrough finally came. A game of pinball ensued in the box from a Richard Davies ball in from the right with a Jevons shot cleared off the line by Bettney but only as far as skipper Richard Teesdale who stabbed his low shot over the line.

Things would turn sour once again for the Scholars on 73 minutes when Cohen was shown the red card for a challenge on Tomlinson when he was through on goal and McIntosh lashed the resultant curling free kick home for Worksop’s third, but the home response was immediate when Danny Bacon fouled Perrow in the area and the “Goal Machine” stepped up to fire the resultant penalty past Kennedy.

The pendulum instantly swung back the other way when a run through the middle by Jackson released Tomlinson who fired his shot across Acton to net the Tigers’ fourth.

The action was becoming more frantic by the minute, Davies hitting the side netting in the 82nd minute and Acton stopping another Tomlinson charge at the death, but there was still time for Worksop to add a fifth in the 89th minute when McIntosh squeezed his second through a gap at the near post.

The defeat was completed in the third minute of added time when Thompson’s looped shot was palmed away by Acton but Jackson was there at the far post to slot in number six for the Tigers.

Chasetown: Acton, Turner, M Branch, Slater (Cohen, 32 mins), J Branch, Teesdale, Stephens,
Egan (Perrow, 56 mins), Smith (Morris, 80 mins), Davies, Jevons

Other Subs: Parsons, Farmer (not used)