LEWIS Mitchell was the star of the show as threadbare Lytchett Minster rallied to register a last-ditch victory in a topsy-turvy clash at New Milton II.

The visitors made light of being down to 14 men after Jack Baker left the field with a head injury and eventually came out on top as Mitchell mustered no fewer than 21 points in a 31-29 success.

Mitchell himself left the pitch for a short time with a knock but returned to lead his side to a maximum haul in a match where the lead changed hands six times.

Milton converted a penalty before running in the first try of the afternoon but Minster rallied to halve the deficit through Mitchell’s first just before the break.

Despite being 10-5 down, Lytchett’s pack took control after the restart with Mitchell diving over before Wayne Hansell finished off a push over move. Mitchell added two conversions to put the visitors 19-10 up.

However, a defensive fumble handed the hosts a lifeline and New Milton took a narrow lead shortly after Baker left the pitch with no further replacements available for the visitors.

But with the match ebbing away, Lytchett’s pack dug in again with Mitchell completing his hat-trick to swing the pendulum in his team’s favour once more.

Milton managed another effort in the latter stages to move into a seemingly unassailable 29-24 lead but one last push from Minster’s dominant front row led to a penalty try and, with the match all square, a final swing of Mitchell’s trusty boot converted to secure a memorable victory.