Eddie Harper’s 52nd minute equaliser saw Wimbledon snatch a chaotic 3-3 draw with Real Club de Polo to keep their chances of reaching the EHL FINALS alive.
His drive and strike made it through a forest of legs to find the backboard and give both sides two points from this epic contest.
It means a win for Wimbledon on Sunday against Oranje-Rood will see them advance to next Easter while the Dutch hosts require a draw or better.
The English side raced out of the blocks with Sam Hooper scoring a sixth minute corner and Kei Kaeppeler thrashed in a second from the right of the circle for 2-0 soon after.
Polo, though, wound up the gears and netted their fourth corner before the end of Q1 through Bruno Avila.
Avila levelled the game in the second quarter from another set piece as the Spanish side controlled the game more with half-time being level at 2-2.
The atmosphere ramped up even further in the third quarter as Polo took the lead for the first time from the penalty spot after the ball was blocked by a body on the line; Marc Miralles’s stroke went in off the inside of the right post.
From there, it was a tale of missed chances amid a lot of chaos. Jules Bournac somehow missed out on a great chance, hitting the post twice in the same action.
At the far end, Wimbledon’s scramble defence kept Polo out amid another dramatic moment from a corner when the Dons were down to nine players, keeping the game in the balance.
And the Londoners got level when Harper raced through on the right and clipped goalward, getting the final credit as the ball whizzed through a series of players.
Polo thought they were back in front but a video review denied them a fourth goal while they also could not convert two late corners, ending their tournament on three points.
