Leeton United have thrown a spanner into the Pascoe Cup title race after a 1-0 victory over Hanwood at Hanwood Oval on Sunday.
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Neither side was able to get the better of windy conditions in an opening half that saw few chances.
However, Hanwood's second half started on the right foot after Leeton's Ethan Murphy was shown his marching orders within the opening minute, with the United defender picking up his second yellow of the afternoon for a tackle on Daniel Johnson.
The extra man proved no help for the hosts however, with Leeton's Adam Raso scoring the only goal of the encounter in the 54th minute thanks to a stunning strike from the edge of the box.
Hanwood coach Anthony Agresta admitted Leeton were able to better adapt to the tough conditions.
"I think we were just beaten by a hungrier and more determined side today," he said.
"On a day like today, that's what you had to be.
"We probably could have wrapped it [the league title] up today, but we always like making things hard for ourselves so we've got to go to Wagga now and knock Tumut off, so its going to make an interesting last day that's for sure."
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Leeton coach Frank Alampi said the win was a welcome one, but the side cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
"It keeps us going," he said.
"It doesn't matter who it was against, we had to win today.
"It's crucial, but at the end of the day we've got to win next week now... because depending on the results, we could still miss out."
Alampi said the side did well to adapt to the "terrible" conditions and recover after going down to ten-men, with Murphy's dismissal forcing a change in formation from the visitors to ensure the side maintained defensive stability.
The result means the race for the title will go down to the final round, with Hanwood level on points with Lake Albert and Henwood Park after the Sharks fell 2-0 to Wagga United and Henwood Park downed South Wagga 4-2.
The sides are level on 36 points heading into the final round, with Hanwood facing Tumut at Rawlings Park.
Leeton meanwhile will likely need to grab a win in their final round fixture against Lake Albert to assure the side of a finals position, with Wagga United and Young Lions also picking up wins.
United sit ahead of Wagga on goal difference but have a three-point buffer over the Lions heading into the final round.
Wagga will take on Tolland in the final round of the campaign, while Young will face South Wagga.
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