Arnold Tawonezvi's second half brace was the difference between the sides in a game that ended in ugly scenes with the double dismissal of Rob Westall and Joe Pratley-Jones following a dreadful two footed lunge by the Badshot Lea man on Sam Lampard.

Molesey were good value for the win, with Taweonzvi at his rampaging best and the midfield trio of Tom Windsor, Dean Thomas and Pratley-Jones working tirelessly to deny the visitors’ space.

Ross Chalke and Tawonezvi both came close in a first half of very few chances, whilst Windsor was unlucky to see an effort come back off the bar from the angle of the box after combining well with the excellent Tim Pitt.

At the other end Scott Costello shot high and wide following a mix up between Thomas and Kristian Webb, before Ryan Scott (more about him later) led a breakaway into Molesey territory and played in Marcus Cousins, his effort was played across the six yard box before being hacked clear by Pitt with Brad Smith lurking dangerously.

Molesey opened the scoring on the hour when Pitt fed Tawonezvi inside the box with his back to goal. Tawonezvi turned his marked sharply before lashing an effort past Matt Watson to give his side a deserved lead.

The game had generally been played in good spirit up until this point; however the catalyst for the turn in mood was Scott. The former Aldershot man had been Badshot Lea's best player in the opening period, however, a second half performance littered with persistent fouling, misplaced passes and a stray elbow culminated in a cowardly two-footed lunge on the blind side of Windsor that should have resulted in the easiest decision of the ref's evening to brandish a red card, however, to everyone's surprise Scott's punishment was just a booking. It was to Windsor's immense credit that he made minimal fuss of the challenge.

Molesey continued to press, with Pratley-Jones shooting just wide and Tawonezvi nearly adding a carbon copy second but being denied by the foot of the post. A fine team move resulted in Windsor thinking he had doubled Molesey’s advantage but his celebrations were cut short by a linesman’s flag.

Lampard and Joe Grant replaced the hard-working Chalke and Lewis Ackerman in the closing stages, and it was Grant who played a part in the killer second goal. Tom Dilloway tore through the visitors’ defence before squaring for Grant, his scuffed effort appeared destined to trickle into the far corner but Tawonezvi slid in to make absolutely sure.

There was a sense of irony that an apparent foul by Tawonezvi when trying to shield the ball from Scott resulted in the Badshot Lea man lying in a heap and the ref waving play on. Fuelled by the sense of injustice Westell dished out his own punishment by going in two footed on Lampard in a challenge that could have been a leg breaker. Westell then aimed a headbutt at Pratley-Jones, who also picked up a red card in the ensuing melee. Molesey plan on waiting for the referee's report before deciding whether to appeal the red card, although the ugly scenes continued into the players’ tunnel immediately after the sending off.

The Badshot Lea officials' fury towards the ref at the final whistle seemed misplaced considering Scott and Westell’s actions, and it’s difficult to imagine their side can maintain their lofty position in the league should the ill-discipline on show on the pitch continue into their league campaign. Presumably their internal punishment for Westell in particular will be swift and robust considering his offence was in effect a double sending off and a lengthy ban almost certainly awaits him.

As for Molesey, having apparently sorted out their defensive deficiencies they have now kept four clean sheets in their past six games, and hope to continue this form into Saturday’s game at Hanworth Villa.