It was heartbreak at the death for Sholing as a controversial stoppage time penalty gifted Gloucester City the three points in a tense afternoon at New Meadow Park.

Gloucester took the lead after 13 minutes, as a well-worked corner routine saw Joe Hanks thunder the ball home via the crossbar, before Sholing levelled only three minutes later with Vinnie Tume finishing off a swift counter attack.

Sholing were then up against it with just over 20 minutes to play, as Blaise Riley-Snow was harshly shown a straight red card for bringing down Sion Spence. Gloucester then won it at the death as the referee somehow pointed to the spot for Harry Pinchard to smash the ball home from 12 yards.

It was a lively start to proceedings by two teams occupying the top 5, and it was the hosts who struck first. A smart corner routine saw Keiran Thomas dummy the ball before Joe Hanks smashed it past Craig King off the underside of the bar to give the Tigers the lead.

It didn’t last long, however, as Sholing hit straight back. The ball was won back in the midfield by Hesketh who played a lovely ball through to Jake McCarthy, he then beat his man before laying it off for Vinnie Tume to slide home his third of the season.

It remained a tight affair for much of the half, with both sides playing with a ferocious intensity worthy of the top of the table.

Both sides had chances to take the lead before the interval, with Sion Spence crashing a shot against the crossbar for the hosts, before Jake McCarthy forced Jared Thompson into a smart save, with Folivi almost gobbling up the rebound.

It was the Boatmen who started the second period the brightest and came so close to taking the lead through a thunderous McCarthy volley, but Thompson superbly managed to turn the ball behind.

Then, with 20 minutes remaining, came the first moment of controversy which changed the game. Sion Spence drove at the Sholing back line before being upended by Blaise Riley-Snow and, despite there being at least two covering defenders, the referee deemed that Blaise had denied an obvious goal scoring opportunity and was dismissed.

The sending off clearly motivated the hosts as they dominated possession with Sholing looking to hang on for at least a point, with skipper Byron Mason leading a determined Boatmen rearguard.

Just when it looked like the hard work had paid off, there was more controversy, with the referee awarding the Tigers a penalty for a seemingly innocuous coming together in the box. Harry Pinchard then stepped up and rifled the ball past King to win it.

The Boatmen will be looking to respond to a cruel defeat in Gloucester as we travel west again next Saturday for a trip to Taunton Town. Kick off 3pm.

Line ups:

Gloucester City: Thompson; Leadbitter; Jones; O’Regan; Williams; Spence; Watts; Thomas; Hanks; Pinchard; Emmett

Subs: C. Thompson; Wildig; Obieri; Phillips; Baidoo.

Sholing: King; B.Mason; Taylor; Targett; Wishart; Riley-Snow; Hesketh; McCarthy; Tume; D.Mason; Folivi.

Subs: Searle; Spurway; Rabbetts; Gregory; Booth.

ATT: 1,267