CAINE Elliott scored a last-minute winner as Rugby Town battled to a thrilling 3-2 victory against nine-man Long Eaton United.
Elliott finally broke Long Eaton’s resistance in the final minute after Teddy Rowe and Josh Thomas put Valley into an early two-goal lead at Grange Park.
Long Eaton had Gianluca Bucci sent off before the quarter-hour mark as Valley struck either side of the defender’s dismissal.
However, Owen Betts and Evan Garnett struck in quick succession to draw 10-man Long Eaton level and leave the visitors stunned.
The home side then had Betts sent off moments before the break to leave Long Eaton down to nine players for the entirety of the second half.
And Elliott struck at the death to secure the points for Rugby as the visitors claimed a fourth successive win in the league.
The result means Rugby sit 11th in the Northern Premier League Midlands table, just two points outside of the play-off places.
Valley made the perfect start when debutant Rowe broke the deadlock after just two minutes with a cool finish from Nathan Kabeya’s pass.
And Long Eaton then had Bucci sent off after he picked up two quickfire yellow cards on 13 minutes.
Rugby made the most of the extra man less than a minute later as Thomas finished from close range after Lewis King tried desperately to keep out Rowe’s initial free-kick.
However, the home side halved the deficit on the half-hour mark when Betts finished on the rebound after Marcus Bald saved Garnett’s penalty and subsequent follow-up.
And Long Eaton equalised on 38 minutes after Geoffrey Lundoloki handled the ball in the box for a second time and Garnett made amends for his earlier miss to score from the spot.
However, the home side then lost Betts to a red card after he committed another yellow card offence when already on a booking one minute before the break.
Valley dominated the second half and eventually reclaimed the lead in the final minute as Elliott’s deflected strike from the edge of the penalty area beat King in the Long Eaton goal.
Rugby are next in action against Bourne Town on Saturday, November 8 with kick-off at 3pm at Abbey Lawn.
