Brighton and Hove Albion climbed to eighth in the Women’s Super League after coming from behind against Leicester City to snatch victory with a late winner.
The 3-2 result made it back-to-back away wins and lifted Albion above Leicester in the WSL table and three points closer to mathematical safety.
The Seagulls would have led at the break but for some fine saves by Foxes’ keeper Liza Kop and they looked like paying for those misses when Jutta Rantala struck 10 minutes into the second half.
But Mikey Harris’s side hit back with two goals in six minutes by substitute Madison Haley and Katie Robinson, her sixth of the season.
Leicester looked to have secured a point when substitute Lena Petterman made it 2-2 with six minutes remaining.
But within 60 seconds, Elisabeth Terland finished off a superb move with a wonderful volley to restore Albion’s lead with her 14th WSL goal of the campaign.
Sophie Baggaley then denied Rantala in stoppage time with a brilliant save to seal Albion’s first win at the King Power Stadium.
The first half had, territorially at least, been evenly contested but it was Albion who carved out the clear-cut chances.
The best came after 12 minutes. Robinson and Terland were involved but when the ball broke to the unmarked Vea Sarri six yards out, she skied her left-footed shot up and over the bar.
Kop then made a trio of saves before the break. She denied Sarri again on 24 minutes, plunging low to her right to block her shot after Albion had counter-attacked through Terland and Tatiana Pinto.
Kop got down low to keep out Vicky Losada’s free-kick from 22 yards – and five minutes before the break stretched to flip another free-kick from 35 yards by Jorelyn Carabali over the bar.
Leicester were a threat down the flanks through Deanne Rose and Rantala, with Rose going closest to a first-half goal for the hosts when her angled effort took a deflection off Li Mengwen and rolled across the face of goal with no one in a blue shirt able to apply the final touch.
The home side had the upper hand at the start of the second half and Rantala broke the deadlock in the 55th minute.
She was played in by Yuka Momiki and took a couple of paces before lashing a right-footed shot into the roof of the net.
Albion hit back with two goals in six minutes. They levelled on 62 minutes when Kop tried to punch the ball away after Leicester failed to deal with Poppy Pattinson’s corner.
Her clearance bounced off Haley and into the net for the American’s second goal of the season with virtually her first touch after coming on.
