Alton produced their finest performance of the season to inflict second-placed Ellingham and Ringwood's first home defeat of the season.

A Steve Ott penalty two minutes into injury time at the end of an epic 98-minute match was enough to seal an improbable win for Alton that keeps the promotion door ajar - just.

Defeat for E&R at their Picket Post fortress has all but ensured that league-leaders Trojans will clinch the sole automatic promotion slot to London 4. But the New Foresters require just one point from their remaining three games to clinch the single play-off place ahead of Alton.

They should still do so and they look to have the quality to cope with higher league rugby.

On this day, however, they were not allowed to play by an Alton side that simply refused to accept defeat.

After their loss to Trojans and then a meek collapse at New Milton a fortnight ago, Alton had every reason to feel sorry for themselves. Shorn of a dozen players, patched-up and reassembled, Alton could rightly consider themselves underdogs going into Saturday's game.

Yet they responded with a display that showed a unity of purpose, passion and a never-say-die attitude. Above all, their discipline - a weak spot throughout this roller-coaster of a season - was exemplary.

It was a day when Alton lived and breathed as a team, although the cause was helped by some outstanding individual performances. Bruce Oliphant - newly from converted to lock from full-back - enjoyed his finest day in an Alton shirt with a superb display that brimmed with uncharacteristic ferocity; Andrew Davies foraged at the bottom of every breakdown and made hard yards when it mattered; and club captain Tony Hopkin completed his rehabilitation from long-term injury with several bludgeoning runs and some muscular work in the rucks and mauls.

It was a tremendous, blood-and-thunder encounter: a bone-shuddering, nerve-shredding affair that lacked fluidity and clear-cut scoring chances but had just about everything else, including fifteen minutes of second-half injury-time.

The bone-hard pitch frequently resembled a war-zone in the second half and even after Ott had given Alton a 82nd-minute lead the visitors had to negotiate an additional 13 minutes of home pressure. They did so without conceding a kickable penalty which would have given E&R certain victory.

Indeed, this was a game that Alton deserved to win because they gave away fewer penalties than their hosts.

By contrast, E&R's ill-discipline prevented them from stringing together any serious second-half pressure despite having the stiff breeze at their backs.

Ott and E&R's outstanding goal-kicker, Andy Weeks, have been two of the most reliable marksmen in Hampshire One but both left their kicking boots at home.

Ott did give Alton the lead with a sweetly struck 38-yard penalty on the quarter-hour after Alton had, predictably, dominated territory in the opening phases.

Ellingham struck back ten minutes later when number eight James Noble crashed over after Weeks had taken a quick tap penalty five yards from Alton's line.

It was Noble who had set up the try-scoring position with a bulldozing run deep into Alton territory. The number eight is enormous, mobile and aggressive and he caused all manner of problems with his direct running and dextrous off-loads.

Ott missed three other penalty attempts and Alton failed to capitalise on their use of the elements in the first half despite a plethora of possession and their territorial dominance.

Leading 5-3 at the start of the second period, bossing the scrums and aided by the wind, E&R seemed to certain to go on to win with something to spare.

Weeks, like Ott before him, struggled to master the capricious wind, and he missed with two shots at goal early in the second half.

The intensity of the contest and the rocky hard pitch then began to take their toll and there were a host of disruptions for injury.

Alton lost flanker Andy Hayward and prop James Gay, forcing wing Sam Law - who had come out of retirement to play - to slot into the back-row.

But the loss of Noble 17 minutes into the second half, however, proved to be a pivotal moment.

Suddenly there was parity in the scrums and the home side lost their most effective broken-field runner. They found themselves on the back-foot as Alton found another gear and started to put some phases together.

With three minutes of normal time remaining, centre Jason Rees had a try ruled out for a forward pass but seconds later E&R's centres were penalised for offside ten yards in front of their posts and Ott gratefully took the three points.

Even then, there was ample time for E&R to clinch a late win.

The home side threw everything at Alton in the closing stages and they came so very close grabbing the spoils.

A combination of Davies and Laurie Goodall managed to hold up E&R's Robbie Mitchell over the try-line, and the home side spurned a four-on-two when a long pass from centre Richard Major was spilled into touch.

But Alton's nerve held and they can clinched a win that may prove to be irrelevant in the context of promotion but will do wonders for morale at Anstey Park.

Ellingham & Ringwood: Webb; Farmer, Fityan, Major, Beavis; Weeks, Christopher; Gilbert, Powell, Langford; Grant (Headley 46), Soden; Vaughan, Mitchell (c), Noble (Ellis 57).

Alton: Wallace; Clark, Rees, Ott, Law; Johns, Grace; Ross, Parratt (c), Gay (Curtis 58); Oliphant, Hopkin; Davies, Goodall, Hayward (Petit 40).

(Pictured: E&R full-back Derek Webb comes face to face with Alton's man of the match, Bruce Oliphant)