Rohaan Simons thought he clinched a late, late winner for Rangers when he leapt to head a corner into the Vasco net deep into added time at BAA Field last night.

But as the Southampton Rangers striker celebrated, referee Stuart Crockwell calmly signalled a free kick to the league leaders, ruling that Simons had headed the ball out of goalkeeper Timmy Figuerido's hands.

Moments later, when Crockwell blew again for full time Simons, booked earlier in the match, had to be restrained by his team-mates as he sought out the referee to make his point.

It was the last in a line of tricky decisions for the Referees Association president, who had received vocal criticism from supporters of both sides in a fast-paced game with a nasty undercurrent which saw five players booked. They felt he had lost control of the match early on, allowing to go unchecked a number of tackles which could charitably be called rash and less generously, downright ugly.

In his defence, it could be argued he was trying to assist the flow of a game between the First Division's two most free-scoring sides -- they had 56 goals between them prior to last night -- and arguably the two most exciting.

As it was, Vasco were more likely to be happy with a point, one which puts them six points clear at the summit and stretches their unbeaten run to 17 games. And it left Rangers, the only side to take three points off Vasco this season, ruing what might have been.

Although they have remained undefeated since late October, their run of results is more likely to satisfy a statistician than their own supporters: After following four defeats with four successive victories, they have now drawn their last six.

In fact they enjoyed the greater possession in last night's encounter, but it was Vasco who had the more clear cut chances.

Eugene Pitt twisted to head off his own line when Ascento Russell looked certain to score after Clay Smith had hooked a corner back into the danger area on 38 minutes. Five minutes earlier Kumo Smith poked a shot inches wide after controlling a high through ball superbly.

Rohaan Simons could have put Rangers ahead as early as the 11th minute, flashing a scorching effort just off target after evading two tackles in the Vasco area. And the Rangers winger was cynically tripped as he erupted past the otherwise faultless Meschach Wade, who went into Crockwell's book. Paul Towlson, also a rock in the Vasco defence, advanced unchallenged to fire a searing 35 yard effort just over the top in the 57th minute before Kwame Tucker forced Figuerido into a save high at his near post with a specualtive effort from an acute angle 25 yards out on the right. And Rangers finished the stronger, forcing four corners in injury time, the last of which brought Simons' controversial attempt.

Hotels 0 Dev Cougars 2 Player coach Wali Salaam inspired Devonshire Cougars to their fourth victory of the season and dumped pitched Hotels into the battle for First Division survival.

Salaam, full of running and bustling effort, struck the second of Cougars' two goals in a three-minute spell in the last quarter of an hour of last night's scrappy contest at BAA Field.

He side-stepped two tackles in the Hotels area before firing a low shot past Stefan Dupres in the Hotels goal from 12 yards in the 77th minute.

Minutes earlier, striker Phillip Clarke had taken advantage of an error by Dupres to shoot into an empty net.

Dupres, up to that point standing between Cougars and a goal glut, misjudged a through ball and watched in horror as it bounced over him into Clarke's path.

The win, Cougars fourth in six games, lifted them a point above Hotels and out of the bottom two. And Hotels, who lack inventiveness and cohesion up front -- they have now scored only nine goals in 14 games -- look destined for a swift return to the Second Division after failing to raise an attack worthy of the description throughout the 90 minutes.