The Blues hadn’t lost on the road since the end of January. An early goal from Connor Pace put Long Eaton in front before the scoreline was cancelled out and then turned around by Khalsa before the half time whistle. Both sides scored again late on, but it was Khalsa that walked away with the three points.

Brad Munn made just one change after Saturday’s defeat to Coleshill. Connor Pace was favoured in the starting lineup whilst Liam Loughlan was left out of the squad.

Sporting Khalsa broke through on goal with the first few chances. Andre Landell fired an effort over the bar in the fourth minute before Ryan Campbell-Gordon was able to clear away another effort five minutes later.

Long Eaton took the lead with 14 minutes on the clock as Pace took the ball in his stride and struck an effort past Brandon Ganley from 20 yards out. He had a similar effort just three minutes later but Ganley was able to dive to his effort at the second time of asking.

The rest of the half was tightly-contested but the hosts equalised just before the half-hour mark. Chay Tilt latched onto a through ball from James McGrady and poked the ball into the net.

Khalsa then turned the game around to 2-1 with five minutes remaining in the half. A tackle in the midfield saw the ball fall to McGrady and he caught Lewis King off his line to finish from 35 yards.

The Blues fought back and came close to levelling in the 41st minute. Pace struck from outside the box once again but a shot that was destined for the top corner saw Ganley tip over for a corner.

After the break, Long Eaton came out firing and Andrew Wright’s shot from point-blank range was blocked by Ganley.

Khalsa also came close after the hour mark as Landell caught the ball well and attempted a bicycle kick from inside the box, but it went wide of the mark. Long Eaton immediately countered and James Shaw was denied a goal in similar fashion to Wright’s earlier effort.

Callum Cocks worked himself into space in the 70th minute and was able to get a shot off but his effort went wide of the mark.

Sporting Khalsa looked to put the game to bed in the 89th minute as Simeon Cobourne dribbled into the box and finished from a tight angle, but Evan Garnett fought back to 3-2 as a looped effort from the Long Eaton forward dropped into the corner of the net.

Our next match is against Grantham Town on Easter Monday. We are at the Family Only Stadium so we hope to see as many of you there supporting the boys as we get our play-off spot over the line.

Starting XI: Lewis King, Owen Betts, Ryan Campbell-Gordon, Callum Cocks, Jayden Cotterill (Omotolani Omotola, 90'), Gianluca Bucci, James Shaw (Evan Garnett, 72'), Andrew Wright (Jamie Hanson, 76'), Tristan Thompson Matthews (Dexter Walters, 56'), Connor Pace, James Taylor. UNUSED SUBS: Aaron Cole.

Match Report: Tom Bowen