BOURNEMOUTH Poppies boss Ken Vaughan has found the antidote to his ref rage – by banishing himself to the stands.

Vaughan opted to vacate the dugout as 10-man Poppies fought back from a goal down and the first-half dismissal of striker Kabba Jack to win 4-2 at Hamworthy United on Tuesday.

The windswept derby was dominated by the whistle of fussy referee Anthony Cross, who dished out no fewer than 11 yellow cards to the frustration of both managers.

Seven of the cautions, including Jack’s two, were issued to Poppies players, triggering an automatic £150 fine for exceeding five in one match.

Vaughan, who was fined £400 and handed a four-match touchline ban for a verbal tirade at a referee in February 2014, told the Daily Echo: “I sent myself off because if I had stayed there any longer I think he might have booked me as well!

“Under the conditions, which were pretty appalling, I think he (Cross) should have adjusted himself. He was booking people for silly things that nobody else seemed to see.

“It was a derby game, you expect a bit of passion and I didn’t feel confident in him being able to take care of it.

“But the main thing was getting the three points, it keeps our recent progress going.

"No doubt, we will have a few blips but hopefully we are going in the right direction now and can get away from the lower reaches.”

United counterpart Shane Traynor backed Vaughan’s views and questioned the award of the free-kick which led to Poppies’ first goal.

“It is really difficult to watch when so many decisions frustrate both teams more and more,” he said.

“Three or four of the bookings for each side were just basic fouls. Was he under pressure from being assessed? Possibly, that’s why I think some referees feel the pressure and unfortunately, this was one of those nights where the referee lost control of the game.

“He affected the game for both teams and I thought some of the decisions were very questionable.”

Ex-Poppies striker Connor Phillips opened the scoring as Hamworthy dominated early on but with the wind at their backs, Poppies hit back through a swinging Fawzi Saadi free-kick which evaded keeper Gerard Benfield.

Connor Doe put the visitors in front from a corner three minutes after the restart but Matt Kemble restored parity from Greg Horlock’s knockdown.

Saadi’s 20-yard blockbuster nudged Poppies back in front on 59 minutes before returning striker Martin Warren, dual-registered with Hamworthy Recreation, sealed the points with an expertly-taken drive across goal.

Hammers: Benfield, Davidson, Haysom (Rose, 78), Walker, Horlock, Hester, Phillips, B Satterley, J Satterley, Kemble, Hill (White, 86). Unused sub: Hampton-Brown. 

Poppies: Broome, Saadi, Ohameje, Speers, Dibba, Ayrton, Banfield, Doe, Warren (Devaney, 89), Rosario (Kwaku, 86), Jack. Unused subs: Makhloufi, Vaughan (g/k).