CANVEY Island battled past Harrow Borough in a fiery encounter that was decided by another John Sands strike.

The striker headed home after 15 minutes to give the Gulls the win and lift them to 8th in the table, although both sides were forced to play the final half an hour with 10 men after Rio Bryan-Edwards was sent off for Danny Heale’s men.

Canvey were almost behind in 30 seconds after Tim Brown was forced into action, saving at the feet of Lewis Driver. And moments later an effort from Steve Butterworth went inches wide with brown beaten.

Ishmail Kamara came close next before Canvey scored the only goal of the match. Marlon Agyakwa’s trickery saw him cross to Sands and he headed, unmarked, past the dive of the keeper for his 11th goal of the season.

Harrow almost grabbed a spectacular equaliser when captain Dan May volleyed a cleared corner at goal but Brown got down brilliantly to tip the effort clear.

The game became fraught in the second half, with both sides reduced to 10 men, after a bad tackle from Driver upended ex-Harrow man Victor Osobu with a mass confrontation following the challenge.

Driver was red-carded while Bryan-Edwards was dismissed for a headbutt in the melee.

Substitute Anthony Thomas saw two late efforts saved before Harrow thought they had grabbed an equaliser – Butterworth netting only to see a late linesman flag deny him and the visitors a goal.

Butterworth was shown a straight red card after the final whistle because of something he said to the referee and it was Canvey who came away with the points.

Canvey Island: Brown, Bryan-Edwards, Carter, Marlow, Jones, Easterford, Agyakwa, Chatting, Kamara, Sands (Thomas), Osobu