Goals: Gauvain 24′; Allen (pen) 87′ – Jordan Gallagher 30′, 90+3′; Lewis 89′.

It was another frantic end to the game at Footes Lane, but this time Guernsey were on the wrong end of it as Jordan Gallagher’s stunner won the game for a deserving Raynes Park Vale at the death.

Guernsey had been under the cosh in the second half and were grateful to still be level before Ross Allen looked like he had bagged another winner from the penalty spot with just a few minutes left to play.

But the hosts scrambled themselves level less than two minutes later before Gallagher’s spectacular effort won the game in the final minute of injury time.

He was by far and away the star man on the night. His first-half goal may have been luck, but he created a hatful of chances for himself in the second half and should have got another before his winner, but his final one was the all-important one that ended the Sarnian’s five-game unbeaten run at home and ended his own side’s slump with their first win in seven games.

Tony Vance was forced to shuffle his pack with Niall Hainsworth’s injury prompting Dave Rihoy shift to right-back, Charlton Gauvain moved inside and Brandon Wallace got a rare start on the left wing.

Buoyed by their recent form, GFC went at their play-off chasing hosts early and Ross Allen’s side footer was deflected wide inside two minutes after he had exchanged passes with Owen Wallbridge. Gauvain headed the resulting corner straight at Raynes Park keeper Isaac Ogunseri.

Louie Downey’s cushioned volley from a half-cleared corner cleared Josh Addison’s crossbar before Wallbridge teed up the underlapping Matt Loaring at the other end, but he couldn’t wrap his left foot around the shot and skewed it wide of the near post.

Rihoy then picked out the late run of Wallace at a corner and the winger’s first-time shot was cleared away at the near post.

Jordan Gallagher was at the heart of most of Vale’s attacks and his first effort was a curler well wide after he brought a high ball down in the left channel and cut across the area.

Wallbridge was his usual combative self and after scrapping for possession, forced Ogunseri to tip over his crossbar with a rising drive.

The first three goals of the game all came from the respective defences bringing about their own downfall. The first earned Guernsey the lead midway through the half as Jordan Stepney’s square pass sold his goalkeeper short on the heavy pitch. Ogunseri had to scuttle out his goal to clear, but Gauvain’s sliding challenge blocked the clearance, which rebounded towards goal. Gauvain got up on his feet to make sure but didn’t need to do anything further as he watched the ball roll into the bottom corner, scoring for the third game in a row and his 17^th for the club taking him past Nigel Hutton into the club’s top 10.

The lead last only six minutes though, and it came from a Guernsey mistake as Addison’s goal-kick was too heavy for Dave Merris and he had the ball pinched off him. It was the other Gallagher, Jake, this time who set off for the edge of the area but his low shot was deflected just wide. The resulting corner from Jordan Gallagher looked like it might have nicked off Charlie Penny at the near post, but the forward pointed to the taker to confirm the ball had gone straight in at the far post, and it was all square half an hour in.

Wallbridge threatened again as Allen collected a short corner and whipped it towards the near post, but the teenager could only nod it over the top from the angle.

Addison did well in the slippery conditions to hold as Jordan Gallagher’s free-kick bounced up into his midriff and the sides went in level at the break.

The visitors stepped it up a gear after the break and were within their rights to feel aggrieved at not going in front at some point in the first 25 minutes or so of the half.

Daniel Moody let a bouncing ball drop two minutes in and sent in a dipping volley from 25 yards that had Addison beaten but rattled the crossbar. Jordan Gallagher hit the rebound onto the outside at the post but was flagged offside. The same Gallagher then cut in from the left and let fly with the ball not quite dipping in time and whistling over Addison’s crossbar.

The Sarnians were causing their own problems, regularly giving the ball away high up the pitch from their own goal kicks. This time, as Vale won it back and attacked, Jordan Gallagher popped up on the right of the area but his low shot was weak and held by Addison. He had a similar effort soon after but Merris intervened to deflect it into Addison’s grasp.

Retreating back to his regular left wing, Jordan Gallagher had a couple more efforts where he cut in from the touchline but drilled just wide of the far post. He was also guilty of a sitter on the hour, when a loose ball came his way six yard out with the whole goal to aim at, but he stuck it over the top.

It wasn’t until midway through the half that Guernsey began to get a grip on proceedings again. They nearly went in front against the run of play as Allen got in ahead of Ogunseri to meet Gauvain’s free-kick, but had mistimed his jump and the ball hit him and bounced just wide.

Penny tapped in substitute Bradley Sweeney’s low cross with just under 20 minutes to go, but the GFC defence were saved by the offside flag against Sweeney in the build up.

Allen wanted a penalty after claiming to be impeded on the corner of the area, and the complaints from the home side resulted in a booking even for Loaring, who had already been subbed off and was sat on the bench.

Guernsey’s number 10 looked to be his side’s best hope of a second, and Ogunseri was rooted to the spot from an Allen free-kick that curled just wide of the left post.

Wallbridge’s volley on the turn dipped narrowly over the top from the edge of the area after Gauvain had flicked on a free-kick with 10 minutes to go. Then in the final five minutes, it all kicked off.

Brought on at right-back, Jacques Cauvin somehow found himself popping up on the left wing and drove forward before cutting inside. He dinked a lovely ball into the path of fellow substitute Kieran Mahon in the area. Mahon was going away from goal but a needless and clumsy push from Stepney sent him sprawling and the referee pointed to the spot.

Ogunseri seemed to place himself right of centre, perhaps to put Allen off, but the prolific forward was unmoved and tucked the penalty calmly into the bottom right corner in the 87^th minute, his 290th goal for the club. Had the Green Lions done it again late on at Footes Lane?

As it turned out, no. Less than two minutes later, Lewis bundled the ball in at the near post after a scramble, and we were all square again with a minute of normal time to play.

Even from a winning position late on, a draw against play-off chasers would still have been a positive one, but the Sarnians couldn’t hold on.

Addison plucked Lewis’ goalbound header from under the crossbar to seemingly preserve his side a precious point, but they couldn’t account for the thunderbolt that came next.

In the last minute of added time, Jordan Gallagher picked the ball up 25 yards out turned and let fly. It dipped at the vital moment, staying out of reach of Addison’s outstretched arms but kissing the crossbar on its way in – a truly stunning goal worthy of winning any game.

It may have seemed lucky to turn it around in that fashion, but it was no more than Raynes Park deserved for their threat in the second half. All they had to do after that was negotiate a long throw from Dodd at the death. They even thought they had a fourth with the last kick as they intercepted Addison’s clearance and Jordan Gallagher (again!) looped the ball into an empty net, but the referee had blown the final whistle before he had pulled the trigger, and it would remain 3-2.

Guernsey went from a potential 16^th place to remaining in 18^th – they would have been kept out of 15^th by Metropolitan Police springing a surprise by beating Southall 2-1 in the night’s other fixture.

RAYNES PARK VALE: 1 Iasaac OGUNSERI; 2 Archie HARLAND-GODDARD; 4 Jordan STEPNEY; 5 Nathan LEWIS (c); 8 Louie DOWNIE (7 Bradley SWEENEY, 63’); 10 Jordan GALLAGHER; 11 Daniel MOODY (9 Reece WILLIAM-BOWERS, 88’); 13 Jake GALLAGHER (17 Thomas BARNES, 81’); 14 Callum McALLISTER; 18 James DICKSON; 20 Charlie PENNY. Not used: 6 Jerry O’SULLIVAN; 16 Henry GUNAY.

Booked: Lewis, Moody.