NEEDHAM Market manager Kevin Horlock admitted he thought his side’s reign as Endeavour Automotive Suffolk Premier Cup holders was coming to an end in the first round of this season’s competition.

The Marketmen, who have won the cup three times in a row, trailed nine-man Bury Town 2-1 as the clock ticked towards the 90-minute mark at Bloomfields on Tuesday night.

The board went up showing a minimum additional 12 minutes were to be added on – and Needham scored three times to win the tie 4-2.

The visitors led 2-0 at the interval thanks to goals from two former Needham players – Luke Brown and Academy product Jose Santa De La Paz.

Brown fired home a thunderbolt 30-yard free-kick in the sixth minute past a stationary Marcus Garnham, who then came racing out of his goal 20 minutes later, allowing Santa De La Paz to knock the ball round him and slot into an empty net.

Needham Market's Jake Dye (red shirt, far right) heads home the equaliser past stand-in Bury Town goalkeeper Ethan Mayhew. Main photograph: Substitute Seth Chambers scores his second and Needham's fourth goal to seal victory. Photographs: Paul Voller.

Bury were well worth their two-goal interval lead – Santa De La Paz almost made it three just before the break – but the tie took a twist in the 47th minute when visiting keeper Daniel Cullum was sent off.

The keeper, who is on a season-long loan from Ipswich Town, mis-timed a challenge on Luke Ingram outside his area and received a second yellow card.

Midfielder Ethan Mayhew donned the keeper’s jersey and Callum Page slotted home ten minutes later after he failed to deal with Kyle Hammond’s right-wing cross.

Santa De La Paz then received his marching orders in the 72nd minute for a second yellow for a late tackle on Jake Dye, and it was the full-back who headed Needham level from Page’s corner in the 93rd minute.

That was after Garnham made a fine one-handed save low to his left to prevent Max Maughn winning the tie for Bury in an isolated breakaway.

Substitute Seth Chambers then settled the outcome with two well-taken finishes into the far corner of the goal after 90+4 and 90+8 minutes.

Horlock admitted afterwards that he thought his side’s chances of a fourth successive cup win were about to flounder at the first hurdle this season.

He said: “You start thinking that but I knew there was going to be a lot of added time because they had three time-outs – it looked like basketball time-outs when they were trying to reshuffle, with lads going down injured.

“I get it, I get it – they have lost players and they have got to restructure. It is frustrating at the time and there was a moment when I thought it wasn’t going to happen for us.”

Horlock said of the two dismissals: “It helped us obviously, but we still had to be patient and we tired them out by moving the ball left to right and in the end the chances came.”

Needham Market goalkeeper Marcus Garnham makes a fine save to deny Bury Town's Max Maughn (blue shirt, partly hidden) towards the end of the regulation 90 minutes. Photograph: Paul Voller

Bury Town manager Cole Skuse said of his side’s defeat: “It’s a tough one to swallow and I am full of mixed emotions, but the over-riding emotion is I am extremely proud of the group.

“The sendings off for me are sendings off. They are both deserved second yellows and two red cards and I have made that known in the dressing room and they have apologised to their team-mates.

“Even when we went down to nine men you still think the boys have put in an unbelievable shift and it is testament to their character the way they conducted themselves after going down to nine men.”