Halifax 2, Crawley Town 1.

Caretaker manager John Yems blasted the referee after seeing Crawley miss the chance to secure their Conference survival.

Yems was furious with Yorkshire official Jock Waugh's performance as Reds went down against relegation rivals Halifax.

Waugh, who lives ten minutes from Halifax and was a last-minute replacement, waved away strong penalty appeals from Crawley early on after a foul on Steve Evans.

The Shaymen went on to take the three points they needed to move out of the drop zone with second-half goals from Darryn Stamp and Adam Quinn before Tony Scully added a consolation in the last minute.

Reds now face a nerve-wracking final day of the season when they have to pick up a point against Kidderminster at home to beat the drop.

Yems said: "He is the worst referee I have seen in all my life. I have no idea how he couldn't award the penalty and got so many little decisions wrong.

"The guy shouldn't be allowed to officiate games at this standard."

Fellow caretaker boss Ben Judge added: "I have never had a go at a referee since I have been in charge but I have to say he was awful.

"We asked him why he didn't give the penalty and he just said that Evans should have shot when he had the chance. What kind of explanation is that?"

The talking point came after just five minutes when Marcus Richardson surged into the box and was stopped in his tracks by the sliding Quinn.

The ball ran loose inside the box to the supporting Evans, who cut inside and went down under the challenge of keeper Craig Mawson as he was about to shoot.

The Crawley players appealed but the lack of a significant away support made it easy for the referee to give the benefit of the doubt to the home side.

Reds, knowing a point would be enough, had started the game with a defence-first approach, playing five across midfield and Richardson as a lone striker, and they did not create another chance in the first half.

The Shaymen found them hard to break down and also only had one opening before the break.

It came on 11 minutes when Steve Torpey ran down the left and crossed for Tyrone Thompson to somehow head over the bar from six yards.

The home side controlled the majority of possession after that but, seemingly affected by the need for three points, failed to use it to their advantage.

They became increasingly anxious as the seconds ticked by, with numerous simple passes going astray.

The home fans became restless, which played into Crawley's hands as they sat back and absorbed the pressure comfortably until the interval.

That all changed 11 minutes after the restart when Stamp broke the visitors' blockade.

Torpey produced another hanging cross with his left foot and the big striker rose above Dave Woozley to power a header into the far corner.

The relief around Halifax's old ground as the ball hit the net was almost tangible and sparked renewed confidence in Chris Wilder's side.

They began to run riot and could have netted twice before they doubled their lead.

The impressive Torpey pounced on a stumble by Magnus Okuonghae to drill inches past a post before the Reds defender made amends with a brave flying block to deny Lewis Killeen moments later.

The inevitable second goal came on 68 minutes thanks to another perfect delivery from Torpey.

His corner was met by giant defender Adam Quinn and his header from close range gave keeper Ben Hamer little chance.

Scully set up a tense final few minutes with a goal out of nothing in injury time.

A neat passing move ended with Lee Blackburn laying the ball off to the winger who neatly chipped Mawson from just inside the area.

Halifax: Mawson, Haslam, Quinn, Trotman, Doughty, Forrest (Uhlenbeek 22), Kearney, Thompson, Torpey (Strong 87), Killeen, Stamp (Toulson 86). Subs not used: Billy, Wright Crawley Town: Hamer, Judge (Rendell 82), Okuonghae, Woozley, Hiley (Bull 65), Berry (Blackman 65), Stephen Evans, Blackburn, Bulman, Scully, Richardson. Subs not used: Tolfrey, Benyon.

Referee: J Waugh (Sheffield).