DARIO Gradi criticised his players for their lack of professionalism after the red-card incident between Ashley Westwood and Luke Rodgers.

The Crewe boss ran on to the pitch to calm his players down after former striker Rodgers tangled with Westwood in added time, which saw both dismissed.

Gradi was angry Rodgers came close to escaping with a booking for his part, but was also unhappy with the way his players reacted.

He said: "It was no longer a football match. It became a farce at the end.

"The referee got it wrong and it would have been unjust, but we've got to grow up and be more professional.

"Afterwards I told the players you don't win football matches by losing your heads."

Westwood will miss Saturday's trip to Port Vale and subsequent games with Morecambe and Cheltenham.

The double sending off overshadowed a competitive tussle, settled by Mike Edwards's second-half header.

Gradi admitted: "We're making mistakes still and losing games we should draw."

Chris Stokes tweaked a hamstring and was substituted after conceding a first-half penalty, which was saved.

"We paid the price for having Stokes in the team. The question is, will he learn from his mistakes?" said Gradi.