TEN-man FC United were left counting the cost of rookie defender Adam Turner's controversial dismissal as they suffered another blow to their UniBond First Division North promotion hopes in crashing at Mossley.
Turner, making only his second start for the Rebels senior side, saw red on the stroke of half-time when he was judged to have pulled Gareth Hamlet's shirt to deny the Lilywhites striker a scoring opportunity.
Hamlet proceeded to rub salt in FC's wound by firing Mossley in front from close-range in the 52nd minute.
And he also had a hand in their second goal 10 minutes from time, when he forced keeper Phil Priestley into conceding a penalty, confidently dispatched by Martin Allison to clinch the points for the home side.
FC battled to the finish but were unable to save themselves from their third successive league defeat, and their fourth in their last five games - a sequence they must snap out of quickly if they're to stay in the promotion hunt.
HAT-TRICK man Aaron Burns turned up the heat on leaders Curzon Ashton after tantalising supporters with a hint that he may stay beyond January.
The former United reserve ace is meant to be at the club until the transfer window, when his registration - held by Cardiff - can be transferred and he is expected to be picked up by a league club.
Until then he cannot play above UniBond League level under FA rules, and has now bagged eight goals in seven games for the first division north promotion chasers.
But he tantalised the FC fans by saying in the match programme: "You can never rule out the idea of me staying here. I'm enjoying my football and that counts for a lot."
The Rebels hit five goals in the space of 23 second half minutes, after trailing at half time to Phil Eastwood's gift goal after a mistake by Rob Nugent.
Six minutes into the second half Nugent redeemed himself by setting up Patterson for the equaliser, his 17th goal in 16 games this season.
Then Burns took control, with a little help from returning right back Matty Taylor. Cult hero Taylor, missing for six weeks with personal problems, set off on a run which drew in defenders and then slipped a pass to the unmarked Burns, who thrashed it past Rigby.
Within a minute Burns had another, a solo run through the heart of the Rossendale defence ending with a precise finish and he put FC back into second place on goal difference with a flying header from Patterson's gorgeous cross on 72 minutes.
Patterson charged through again two minutes later and when the keeper bravely saved at his feet the ball span loose for Chris Baguley to slam into the empty net.
FC UNITED have top spot in their sights after racking up a sixth successive win and pulling off their first league double of the seasonThe Rebels can edge ahead of leaders Curzon Ashton on goal difference if they win at Clitheroe next week, as the Tameside outfit are involved in the FA CupAnd FC manager Karl Marginson says there is a healthy rivalry growing with Curzon, who were promoted with his team last season and lost a tense League Challenge Cup final as the Rebels did the double.
"We haven't played them yet, but they have done really well so far and are still unbeaten in the league. But I saw them at Bamber Bridge recently when they were lucky to get a result," he said"We have already had a form blip, and it will be interesting to see how they cope when their comes. They also have three of our old players in Rhodri Giggs, Alex Mortimer and Joz Mitten, so that all adds a bit of spice to the rivalry." Against Bridlington, who were hammered 6-0 at Gigg Lane in August, Aaron Burns made it five goals in five games since he joined FC on a temporary basis to set them on their way to another victory, and Jerome Wright added a second shortly after the interval.
That set the stage for the Rebels' own showman Rory Patterson, who confirmed himself as top scorer in the UniBond League first division north with his 16th of the season, a classy lob over the keeper with the outside of his foot
"That was typical Rory," said Marginson. "He had his back to goal, and just sneaked a little look over his shoulder, saw the keeper off his line and came up with a great finish. He comes up with unexpected goals like that all the time."
Now FC are sweating on the results of the scan on last season's top scorer Stuart Rudd, who damaged knee ligaments a fortnight ago and may be out for the season.
The scan had to be delayed until the swelling on the knee reduced, and there has been a further delay in waiting for the specialist's report, but Rudd is expecting a result later today.