The ten men of Lichfield City FC were forced to settle for a point after they failed to hang on to a 3-0 lead against Racing Club Warwick.
Jamie Hawkins’ men were looking to close the gap on the three sides above them in the table and looked to be off to a flying start when Tom Massey put them a goal in front with just two minutes on the clock.
Things got even better when Matthew Hardiman got on the end of Max Black’s pass to slot beyond the advancing goalkeeper.
But a key point in the game came when Dan Sheppard saw red for two yellow cards with 35 minutes on the clock.
The sending off didn’t throw Lichfield off their stride though as the ten men continued to create chances, with Joe Hartshorne and Josh Mansell firing over.
The third goal was coming for City and it duly arrived when Hartshorn rifled home.
But Racing Club Warwick were given a foothold in the game just before the break as Danny Bartle found the net to reduce the arrears.
Lichfield shuffled their formation in a bid to protect their lead with a man down, but a close range header from Luke Cole just after the hour mark meant City had their backs firmly against the wall.
But Cole went from hero to villain as he saw red ten minutes after finding the net.
The levelling of the sides gave Lichfield hope and they thought they’d stretched their lead when James Taylor found the net but his celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.
The drama of a topsy-turvy afternoon wasn’t over though as with the clock in injury time, Racing Club Warwick goalkeeper Charlie Bannister came forward for a corner in search of an equaliser – and duly lashed home from 12 yards to earn his side an unlikely point.