Hardly Athletic's promotion dreams were ended for this season after a physical game ended with a late defeat.
Both sides finished the game with four men after Matt Carter and a Pathetic player were sent off for violent conduct at the start of the second half, after Chris Cope had harshly been blue carded for a shoulder charge at the end of the first half.
The game started with Hardly fully understanding they needed a victory to keep alive their promotion hopes and they took the lead when, after Pathetic had piled forward but lost the ball, a three on one counter attack saw Cope find Newman on his right and he lashed the ball past the keeper to break the deadlock.
The lead didn't last long though and, with Hardly pinned back, a shot from distance flew past Gordon and into the bottom corner of the net to equal things up.
The game was physical and both sides were willing to get stuck in but the ref was reaching for his pocket a minute before half time, sin binning Cope after he was adjudged to have used excessive force when shouldering a Pathetic player, who stumbled into the boards. The card seemed harsh but Hardly managed to get through the two minute period, either side of half time, without conceding as a spell of keep ball and mild time wasting ensured no advantage was given away.
Pathetic did grab the lead a couple of minutes later when the defence were outnumbered and the ball was played to a free man who smashed the ball past the keeper.
The game was heated and it all boiled over half way into the second period. A tangle of legs saw a Pathetic player object and square up to Carter. The pair wrestled before falling to the floor, with players pulling them apart. The ref called the pair over and issued red cards for both, reducing the game to four on four.
When the next set of subs came about the game was still 2-1 but the sides were level almost immediately as crisp, sharp passing saw Hardly penetrate the defence before Cope finished the move off, lashing the ball past the keeper.
With the game now capable of going either way it swung from end to end but the pendulum swung massively in Pathetic's favour when they again outnumbered the defence and clipped the ball past Gordon and into the net and despite Hardly's best efforts they couldn't find a way back into the game and the seasons hopes were ended with the final whistle.