Boss Steve Evans and his assistant Paul Raynor were both sent to the stand as Crawley Town slipped to defeat at promotion-seeking Burton Albion.

The only goal of the game was scored by former Reds striker Daryl Clare in the 58th minute.

Despite a big push by Crawley in the final period, the equaliser would not come.

Evans and Raynor could both be in hot water again after referee Dean Mohareb ran out of patience.

Evans went first in the 66th minute and Raynor followed three minutes later.

Raynor said: "I think it was an excellent performance today and to come away with nothing is extremely disappointing.

"I would say we've dominated the last 20 minutes and they've scored with a lucky deflection that wasn't a great strike from Daryl."

The winning goal came when James Krause upended another former Reds player Jake Edwards 25 yards from goal.

Although the kick looked better suited to left-footed John McGrath, up stepped Clare to see his kick strike the defensive wall to completely wrong foot Ashley Bayes and nestle in the corner of the net.

Raynor added: "When you're at the top of the league you get these breaks and deflections.

"We've had deflections in their box in the last five to ten minutes and they've flown over the bar or people have blocked them.

"Their keeper made a great save so it just wasn't to be unfortunately today."

Albion boss Nigel Clough added: "It was a magnificent three points given the circumstances and the conditions so we are absolutely delighted with the effort that's gone in and the three points. It's one of those days when you are only probably going to get a 0-0 or a 1-0 result. It was a slice of luck that we got today but it was no more than we deserved."

Evans named the same starting XI that defeated second-placed Cambridge United on Tuesday.

The strong, swirling wind caused problems for both sides and this was apparent in the fourth minute when a ball into the Crawley area hung in the air allowing Edwards to lay the ball to Clare, who turned and forced Bayes to parry his shot around the post at full stretch.

Crawley could have taken the lead in the 12th minute when Dannie Bulman seized on a loose ball and ran into the Burton box, only to see Saul Deeney rush from his goal to make a sliding tackle with his feet to deny the midfielder.

Moments later, Jon-Paul Pittman played in the same player, only to see him screw his 15-yard shot horribly wide.

Burton's best chance of the half came ten minutes before the break when McGrath brushed off Glenn Wilson's challenge to deliver a cross which Clare volleyed just over the bar from ten yards.

Right on the interval. Thomas Pinault retrieved his own cleared free-kick to hit an 18-yard shot that was straight at Deeney. Although Burton started the second half brightly, Crawley created a good opening in the 50th minute.

Pittman brushed off John Brayford on the left wing and picked out Bulman with a threaded pass. The midfielder could not find the space to turn and shoot on the six-yard line as Mark Greaves quickly closed him down, and Bulman's attempted back heel to Pittman was hacked clear.

Crawley came even closer four minutes later when Jamie Cook's corner was headed to the edge of the box for Pinault to hit a rasping drive that cannoned into the crossbar with Deeney beaten.

After Burton had taken the lead, Bradley Thomas headed narrowly over from another Cook corner before both Evans and Raynor were sent to the stands by referee Mohareb.

Wilson was withdrawn for Pierre Joseph-Dubois as Reds went to 3-4-3 formation in an effort to get an equaliser.

Burton hit the crossbar from McGrath's 35-yard shot before Crawley forced a succession of corners in the final minutes.

From one, Pittman got in a great header which Deeney acrobatically tipped over the bar.

A minute later Cook's delivery found Lee Blackburn but he poked his effort wide from six yards. The match had moved into stoppage time when a neat lay off by Pittman gave Cook space to shoot but he was denied by John Brayford's block.

Burton Albion: Deeney, Brayford, Stride (sub Greaves 23), James, Hurst, Goodfellow, McGrath, Simpson, Gilroy (sub Webster 77), Edwards (sub Harrad 79), Clare.

Subs not used: Farrell, Williams.

Crawley Town: Bayes, Wilson (sub Joseph-Dubois 70), Thomas, Stevens, Krause, James, Pinault (sub Blackburn 74), Thompson (sub Carayol 77), Bulman, Pittman, Cook.

Subs not used: Murphy, Carter.

Referee: D Mohareb (Cheshire).