RACING Club Warwick suffered an agonising 3-2 defeat against local rivals Coventry Sphinx in their final home game of the season.
A 92nd-minute penalty from Luke Shearer condemned the Racers to defeat at Townsend Meadow as Sphinx completed a league double over Warwick.
The home side had twice come from behind to draw level as Max McNulty and James Hancocks cancelled out goals from Kyle Carey and Harvey Smith before Shearer netted a last gasp winner.
And the result means Warwick sit 11th in the Northern Premier League Midlands table with one game left to play this season.
The Racers made the worst possible start when Carey showed great composure in the box before coolly firing a shot into the bottom right corner after just four minutes.
However, the home side equalised on 18 minutes as Josh Flynn went to ground under a challenge in the box and the referee pointed to the spot as McNulty converted the resulting spot kick.
Sphinx reclaimed the lead in first-half injury time when Smith looped a header over the onrushing Sam Lomax from Harry Wakefield’s lofted through ball.
The hosts levelled the game for a second time on 70 minutes as Hancocks rose highest to head in Harry Eden’s floated cross from the right at the back post.
However, in a late twist, a clumsy challenge in the box saw Shearer win a penalty as the substitute picked himself up and fired the resulting spot kick down the middle of the goal.
Racing Club Warwick finish the season with a trip to Sporting Khalsa on Saturday, April 26 with kick-off at 3pm at the Guardian Warehousing Arena.
