Relief for boss Setchell as Steelmen stumble over the line against nine-man Rugby Town
Boss Gary Setchell was struggling to explain Corby Town's Jekyll & Hyde performance as they made it three wins out of three in the Pitching-In Northern Premier League Midlands Division with a 2-1 victory at nine-man Rugby Town on Tuesday.
The Steelmen side looked to be cruising to victory as they led 2-0 thanks to a 13th-minute penalty from Tyrone Lewthwaite and Rory McAuley doubling their advantage eight minutes into the second half - moments after Rugby's Josh Thomas had been dismissed.
Oliver West was then red-carded two minutes later to leave the home side two players short, but they cut the deficit on 67 minutes through Rivel Mardenborough, setting up what Setchell admitted was 'a horrible' finale.
But the visitors, who were themselves reduced to 10 men in stoppage time when Hugh Alban-Jones was sent off, did enough to see out a third straight league win that sees them second in the table on goal difference.
"If somebody had said to me coming into the ground that you are going to get a 2-1 victory I would have taken it," Setchell told @corbytownfc.
"If I could only talk about the first 60 minutes then I would be very happy, but I can't, I have to talk about the other 30 as well.
"For the first hour I thought we were really good, I don't think Jake Laban has had a save to make, and we had three or four good chances in the first half.
"We got the penalty, we have hit the post and dominated the game.
"We have come out the second half and we started brightly again, they have a man sent-off, we scored, and then you think we are going to kick on.
"They then have another man sent off and you think, 'lovely', and then we have done our best to grab defeat or a draw from the jaws of victory.
"We gave too many fouls away, we were trying to force a pass even though we had two extra men, and then we had a man sent off late on, and it would have been a travesty if we had drawn the game.
"But, nine points from nine and through in the FA Cup, we would have taken that.
"I think we have been playing well, a lot better than we did last year, but when they went down to nine men, they scored from a set-piece and it was just frantic, it was horrible.
"Credit to Rugby, with nine men they kept going, and although it is probably not one for the memory bank that's a great three points. We draw a line under that and we move on to Saturday."
The Steelmen host fellow unbeaten side Coventry Sphinx at Steel Park on Saturday (3pm), before making the short trip to Hayden Road to take on AFC Rushden & Diamonds on Bank Holiday Monday (3pm).