COVENTRY Sphinx suffered a cruel 3-2 defeat against St Neots Town after staging a late second-half comeback.
A brace from Rhys Thorpe put the visitors in command at the Cameron Slater Arena.
However, Djibril Diedhiou halved the deficit five minutes from time before Danielke Reka netted three minutes later to restore parity.
There was still time for another late twist as Thorpe completed his hat-trick three minutes into injury time.
Despite the defeat, Coventry remain one point clear at the top of the Northern Premier League Midlands table.
After a goalless first period, St Neots broke the deadlock on 48 minutes when Thorpe’s header crept in with Sphinx goalkeeper Charlie Woods unable to prevent the ball from crossing the line.
And Thorpe doubled his tally for the game on 72 minutes as he finished Connor Furlong’s square ball from the right from close range into an empty net.
However, Sphinx halved the deficit five minutes from time when substitute Diedhiou finished from 10-yards out after St Neots blocked an initial volley.
And the home side equalised on 88 minutes as substitute Reka forced the ball into the net following a long throw from the left.
However, Sphinx were dealt a cruel blow at the death when Thorpe lashed a half volley into the net from just inside the penalty area to leave the home side stunned.
Coventry are next in action against Loughborough Students on Saturday, September 27 with kick-off at 3pm at Loughborough Stadium.
