Only a last minute penalty prevented Sutton & Epsom resuming their London Division Two South West campaign in defeat.

The league leaders were staring down both barrels at home to Guildford until Frankie Murray stepped up to steal a 21-19 win with the last kick of the game.

Shawn Renwick got on the scoresheet twice and Murray would add 11 points to take the four winning points – however, missing out on a bonus allowed second-placed Chobham to cut Sutton’s lead from eight to seven points.

The match started with both sides looking bright after the three-week Christmas break.

Each had some good phases of play, which culminated with Guildford having the first attempt at goal after seven minutes when Sutton were forced offside at a ruck within kicking range.

Fortunately, for Sutton, the kick was missed, which continued to be the order of the day as both would go on to miss further opportunities.

After the miss, Sutton built the pressure without being able to put any points on the board.

Suddenly Guildford broke out of defence and with excellent ball movement and support play, burst through the Sutton defence to score in the corner through their number eight, Nick Taft - the conversion was missed.

Sutton rallied and had another good period of sustained pressure, which eventually led to a try through Shawn Renwick – Murray’s conversion was successful, which put Sutton into a 7-5 lead.

This was the last time that Sutton would have the lead until the last seconds of the game.

The hosts continued to put Guildford under pressure but it was well absorbed, and Guildford went on to score two converted and well-worked tries for 19-10 to the visitors.

The second half started with Sutton needing to score quickly to establish a platform for victory, and Murray duly obliged with a penalty for 19-13. 

Murray would go on to miss two further long-range kicks, but the Sutton pressure eventually culminated in a second try for Renwick – Murray missed the conversion, leaving Sutton 19-18 going into the final quarter.

Guildford missed an opportunity to increase their lead with five minutes left, but the missed penalty would prove telling.

Sutton mounted a last-minute push on the Guildford line, which culminated in the last-second penalty, and Murray’s match-winning kick.

Sutton travel to bottom club Camberley next weekend.