Referee Irven Simmons was criticised during and after a match which 10-man Colts won thanks to a last minute deflected goal from Vic Ball.

In an often tetchy affair at the Southampton Oval, Simmons came under fire from the Colts' bench throughout, after a series of decisions either went the way of their opponents or were not to their advantage.

Colts' assistant coach Keyshawn Smith was one of the most vocal on the sidelines.

"Refereeing has to step up as far as the whole game,'' he said afterwards.

"They shouldn't be for neither team. They are out there to do a job and they should do it.

"Personally, I think referees should watch a lot more ball on TV, then they might referee a bit better, but that's just my personal opinion.'' One incident Colts could have little arguement with was the second-half dismissal of Coolridge Durham.

Simmons booked the player for ungentlemanly conduct in the first period and had no option but to card him again after the restart for a crude tackle.

The teams should perhaps have been 10-a-side by that point, but Kwame Tucker received only a stern talking to after kicking out and connecting with Damon Ming 12 minutes in.

In a game of missed chances, Rangers should have been at least two up by the break.

A long throw caused confusion in the Colts box and when the ball fell to Ascento Russell his shot appeared destined for the net. But 'keeper Cymande Davies thought otherwise and sprang from nowhere to block the effort.

Then the home side missed a golden opportunity from the spot.

Sheridan Ming was brought down in the area by Durham but captain, Jason Raynor, put the kick far too close to Davies and he saved.

Colts, for whom Aljame Zuill missed a plethora of chances, stepped up a gear after the break and ironically fashioned more openings when they went a man down.

Sullivan Phillips, injured late on, headed just over and then crashed a shot off the underside of bar.

Jermel Belboda saw Jason Williams save and then the keeper used his feet to prevent Quincy Aberdeen netting.

Russell then failed to make the most of a suspect offside call for the home side, firing well wide, and blazed over when well placed in the box.

Those misses were to prove costly for the bottom placed side.

As injury time approached, Ball, on as a sub, latched onto a pass just inside the box and fired in a low shot which crossed the line after clipping a defender's heel.

Assistant coach Smith said he felt victory was deserved.

"I think the result was fair, especially with the amount of chances we missed -- the game should have been well out of reach,'' he said.

Rangers: J.Williams; J.Raynor; O.Hart (S.Bailey, 67 mins); L.Seymour; P.Brangman; R.Simmons; S.Ming; K.Tucker; A.Russell; J.Tucker; T.Flood (T.Smith, 80 mins).

Colts: C.Davies; Jermel Belboda; S.Burgess; N.Samuels; C.Durham; J.Samuels; D.Ming; Jermaine Belboda; A.Zuill; S.Phillips (C.Hill, 76 mins); Q.Aberdeen (V.Ball, 77 mins).

Men of the match: J.Williams (Rangers); Jermel Belboda (Colts).

Referee: I.Simmons.

Yellow cards: K.Tucker, O.Hart (Rangers); D.Ming (Colts).

Red card: C.Durham (Colts) -- two bookable offences.