Lichfield City FC were again made to rue a host of missed chances as they failed to punish a Pilkington side who played with ten men for 70 minutes.
The home side started brightly enough, Josh Houghton side footing wide when it seemed easier to score.
City eventually took the lead when the visiting keeper Francis brought down Lewis Bourne, Liam Holt dispatching the resulting penalty.
The lead should have been doubled when Houghton missed another glorious opportunity when he tangled with Francis, who paid the price for an over the top reaction which saw him sent off.
The numerical advantage failed to see City press on and Pilkington grabbed a deserved equaliser when Michael Wright ghosted in at the back post to score.
The second half saw the home side’s lethargic approach give a boost to their hard-working visitors who were scrapping for every ball.
But Lichfield looked to have weathered the storm when they retook the lead after Kyle Minto glanced home Danny Thurstance’s cross.
However, an error from Sam Geffen allowed Wright to net his second of the game and pull Pilkington level once more.
City pushed looking for a winner and several opportunities went begging before they undone by a sucker punch in the dying seconds as substitute Mitchell Thompson raced clear to slot the winner past Craig Johnson.
Click below to see Mick Tyler’s pictures from the game:
