Tom Annear’s stoppage-time penalty secured a remarkable three points for Falmouth Town as they recorded an astonishing 5-4 victory over Barnstaple Town at Bickland Park, writes Matt Friday of Cornwall Sports Media.

Tim Nixon’s 13th-minute header gave the hosts a deserved lead, only for Callum Laird to level the scores late in the first half.

But Town roared to life after the turnaround with two goals from Luke Brabyn and another from Nixon giving the hosts a comfortable three-goal cushion.

The Devonians were not admitting defeat, however, with Laird and Matt Andrew closing the gap to one before Laird completed his hat-trick to draw his side level late on.

There was still time for more drama as Barum gloveman Liam Kingston brought Cam Hutchison down inside the box, with Annear stepping up to seal a remarkable victory in stoppage time.

Victory sees Town move up four places into the top ten of the Western League table after most other games were postponed on Saturday.

Town got off to a good start and opened the scoring in the 13th minute, with Olly Walker using his blistering pace down the right flank before crossing to Nixon, who nodded home at the back post.

The home side enjoyed a dominant first 30 minutes but Laird was on hand to level for the Devonians late in the first half, however, with the Barum man making no mistake with the rebound after Ryan Barnes had saved a shot on the line.

Town regained the initiative just before the hour when Nixon turned provider by sending a lofted pass through for Brabyn, who sprinted clear of the defence before guiding the ball past Kingston.

Barum hardly had time to react before they found themselves three goals down barely two minutes later. Nixon received the ball on the edge of the box and took another touch before rolling it past Kingston and into the far corner.

It seemed like the match was over five minutes later as Town capped off a breathless seven minutes with a fourth goal. Walker was the provider on this occasion, with his pass setting Brabyn through for the frontman to find the bottom corner once again.

The Devon side were not down and out just yet, though, as Laird pulled one back with his second of the day in the 72nd minute. Barnes did brilliantly to save the Barum man’s header but could do nothing as Laird poked the rebound over the line.

If that goal gave the visitors a glimmer of hope then their next goal seven minutes later put Barnstaple right back into the game. Barnes parried another effort away and it was Andrew who pounced on the loose ball and returned it into the net from the centre of the box.

And the Devonians completed the remarkable comeback another six minutes later, with Laird also completing his treble by hammering the ball past Barnes from close range with just five minutes of the 90 remaining.

The momentum was now firmly with the away side but it was Town who found a sensational winner in stoppage time after Kingston brought down Hutchison inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot and Annear was the man to tuck the ball away and bring an end to a phenomenal game.