HARRY Crook scored a brace in vain as Bromsgrove Sporting twice surrendered the lead in a late 3-2 defeat against St Ives Town.
Crook netted twice in the first-half only for St Ives to draw level on two separate occasions before the interval at the Victoria Ground.
And Amaru Kaunda scored a late winner for the visitors nine minutes from time as the Rouslers slipped to a third home league defeat of the season.
The result means Sporting sit 17th in the Southern League Premier Central table, three points above the relegation zone.
Paul Smith’s side made the perfect start when Jamie Meddows played in Crook down the left channel before the latter drove into the box and cut inside before firing a shot into the top left corner.
However, the visitors equalised on 24 minutes as Kobe Chong held off his man before drilling a low effort into the bottom left corner following a blistering counter attack.
Sporting reclaimed the lead on 32 minutes when Crook blasted a shot into the bottom left corner from just inside the penalty area from Charlie Wragg’s lay off.
St Ives levelled the game for a second time just three minutes later as Jordan Williams flicked Johnson Gyamfi’s cross from the right into the net.
In an end-to-end first half, the Rouslers almost took the lead for a third time only for Daniel Wilks to push Crook’s effort to safety.
The visitors won the game on 81 minutes when Kaunda curled a low effort into the bottom left corner from 15-yards out.
However, St Ives’ winner came with Sporting’s Jack Newell down in the box with an apparent head injury only for the referee to allow the game to continue for several seconds before the visitors struck.
Bromsgrove are next in action against local rivals Redditch United on Tuesday, September 24 with kick-off at 7.45pm at the Victoria Ground.
