BELS could afford to play an hour with 10 men and still ease into the final of the Rawlinson Cup on a baking afternoon at the Track. Neil Clegg received a straight red from no-nonsense ref Mark Fallaize 10 minutes before the interval, but such was Bels’ dominance after the break you would not have guessed they were the man short.

Clegg’s dismissal was, though, bad news for Micky Ogier’s side.

With more meaningful football to come in the next month, they can ill-afford to lose a player of his quality to an automatic 35-day ban and no doubt the Scot will soon be regretting his comments to linesman George Jennings which earned him the early shower.

As for Rovers, talk of a sudden revival and successful days ahead should, on this performance, be guarded with extreme caution.

Sure, Ryan Tippett can lead the line and Dale Webb showed himself to be a real handful at times, but this was the Rovers we have become accustomed to – very ordinary against a depleted Bels side.

That said, it was they who took the lead after just 90 seconds.

Webb swung over a corner from the right and with the Bels defence perhaps concentrating their efforts on stopping Tippett, allowed centre-back Jake Ellis an unchallenged leap and time to pick his spot with a fine headed goal.

Bels, who at that stage had Ogier in a central midfield role, were behind just four minutes.

Rovers’ defence got themselves in a needless muddle on the edge of their box and with keeper Simon Lempriere stranded, Dave Rihoy side-footed an easy finish into an empty net.

By the time Clegg tapped home Bels’ second on 28min., Ogier had taken leave with an injury and given young Dave Martin an opportunity to show his worth.

The youngster nearly scored with his first touch and generally did well, as did young stand-in keeper Scott Rowe.

Up until half-time Adam Dorey and Eamon Gillease did their best to keep Rovers pressing forward with some neat passing, but after the break there was only one side in it and Rovers’ poor fitness levels showed under a fierce sun.

That and Bels’ superior talent made it easy for them to cope with playing one man short and on 59min. Joby Bourgaize made the game safe with a far-post header from a superb cross from tight on the corner flag by Chris King.

Bels had other chances but had to settle for just one more, Rihoy skilfully bringing down a high ball and taking it around the keeper to score into an empty net.