The Blues went down 4-3 in a Southern League Premier Central clash to a Barwell side battling for points themselves at the relegation end of the table, with all the action coming in a bizarre last 20 minutes when the Blues went down to 10 men and were 3-0 down.

At that point, with Barwell having taken a 2-0 half-time lead through a Brady Hickey 25th minute penalty and a goal from Ashley Chambers on 27 minutes and then increasing that to three through Hickey again from the spot on 69 minutes after Leiston skipper Seb Dunbar was sent off for handball in the box, it looked game over.

However, an astonishing fightback by the 10 man Blues saw George Quantrell net twice in two minutes (76 and 78), before Leroy Lita made it 4-2 for the visitors on 84 minutes only for Jamar Loza to make it 3-4 with two minutes left. It was a frantic finale as the Blues belied their numerical disadvantage, and one which almost saw Chris Wigger’s side claim a point as Adam Mills headed narrowly wide in time added on.

However, defeat it was for Leiston who again drop six points off the play-off picture in eighth and will rue their first-half performance. The Blues face a crucial game at Biggleswade on Tuesday night, their game in hand on many of the sides above them.

On a sunny, but blustery afternoon, Oliver Yun came back into the starting XI for the Blues in place of the injured Wyatt Hill in an otherwise unchanged team from Tuesday night’s win over AFC Sudbury in the Suffolk Premier Cup.

Mills, cup-tied at Felixstowe, returned to the squad but had to make do with a place on the bench.

Before the match, there was a minute's silence in memory of former long-standing Vice-President John Murphy, who sadly passed away recently.

After a slow start, Loza and Kyran Clements were denied by good blocks in the Barwell area on 15 minutes but it was the visitors who took the lead on 25 minutes.

Barwell headed against the post but the Blues fouled in the box and up stepped captain Hickey to send Billy Johnson the wrong way from the spot. Just two minutes later, and the away side sent an accurate clearance upfield and Chambers netted from close-range to double the Leicestershire team’s lead.

Clements had a shot deflected in the area that was saved by Liam Castle in the Barwell goal on 34 minutes, while four minutes later, Rayworth and Loza combined well in the Barwell penalty area but the latter couldn’t force the ball beyond Castle. Ben Fowkes had a shot that just went wide of Castle’s right-hand post and Rayworth headed wide Fraser Alexander’s cross before the break as Barwell kept the Blues out.

Leiston had most of the ball at the start of the second half. Rayworth’s cross from the right clipped Castle’s crossbar while Rayworth had a header diverted away by a defender with the resultant ball falling to Ismael Fatadjo, and then Clements, but their attempts were well blocked.

But it was Barwell who would score the crucial next goal, again Hickey converting a penalty, sending Johnson the wrong way, after Dunbar had handled the ball on the line, with the Leiston skipper sent off.

It looked game over at this stage. However, good play by Loza on the left by-line saw him cross and Quantrell headed home to reduce the arrears and then moments later Quantrell shot home this time for his 19th of the season to get another goal back as the comeback gained momentum.

Leiston forced a couple more corners with the crowd really getting behind their side, but it was Barwell who added another goal, with sub Leroy Lita racing clear on 84 minutes and shooting low into Johnson’s bottom right-hand corner.

Still Leiston kept coming, Loza netting his 25th goal of the season on 88 minutes after a corner wasn’t cleared, before Barwell keeper Liam Castle went off injured late on with Lita taking his place between the sticks.

In the 98th and final minute, Mills headed agonisingly wide of Lita’s right-hand post as Barwell held on for the points.

FT: Blues 3 Barwell 4

How the sides lined up;

Blues: Johnson, Yun, Dunbar, Rayworth, Clements, Eddie Jackson, Fatadjo (Saunders 78 mins), Alexander (Armin 90+2 mins), Fowkes (Mills 67 mins), Quantrell, Loza. Subs not used: Ryan Jarvis and Rossi Jarvis.

Barwell: Castle (Arthur 90+4 mins), Richards, Brown-Hill, Nirennold, Mancinelli, Chambers (Lita 46 mins), Hickey, Hill, Waite, Hayes, Rowe-Turner. Subs not used: Master, Kindred and Elliott.

Match Sponsors MORSON GROUP Man Of The Match: George Quantrell

Attendance: 156