Megan Wearing netted a dramatic 102nd-minute winner moments after skipper Bonnie Horwood had seen a penalty saved as Ipswich Town Women came from behind to beat Cardiff City 2-1 in their opening game of the season at Ocean Park Arena.
Town had gone behind in the first minute via a controversial goal, the referee allowing the Bluebirds to take quick free-kick on the edge of the box, Phoebie Poole finding the net uncontested.
But the Blues levelled 11 minutes later when Leah Mitchell headed into the net through a crowd of players from a corner on the right.
In the second half, the game was halted for more than 10 minutes due to a Cardiff player suffering an injury which saw her stretchered off.
And in the ninth minute of the resultant added-on time Town were awarded a penalty, Natasha Thomas having been fouled by Cerys Jones, who was red-carded. However, Horwood’s spot-kick was saved.
The Tractor Girls seemed destined to have to settle for a point but in the 12th additional minute, Scotland U19 international Wearing finished at the back post after the Welsh side had failed to deal with a corner.
Town still had another 10 minutes of injury time to see out before the referee’s whistle confirmed a victory on the road, which will delight manager Joe Sheehan, who told TWTD in a wide-ranging interview on Friday that the focus going into the game was making a good start to the season.
Following the match, Blues forward Holly Turner was taken to hospital after picking up a serious hip injury in the latter stages. SHe was released on Monday morning.
Town: Soper, Boswell, Mitchell, Wearing, Hughes, Horwood (c), Robertson, Barker (Turner 86 (Evans 108)), Doe (Ev Williams 86), Peskett, Thomas. Unused: Hartley.