RYAN Blake broke Cirencester Town's hearts on Saturday as runaway league leaders Berkhamsted struck deep into stoppage time to win a seven-goal thriller.

The Centurions came from behind three times in the contest and when Ryan Kinnane diverted a shot into his own net with ten minutes to play, it looked as if they had rescued a deserved point. 

But Blake reacted the quickest to a ball coming back off the post to hand the visitors all three points in dramatic fashion. 

Reegan Messenger twice cancelled out Jonathan Lacey in each half before Adam Watkins put Berkhamsted 3-2 up and despite again coming from behind, the away side found a way to maintain their 18-point gap at the top of the Southern League Division One Central table. 

It had been the worst possible start for the home side when Lacey's low shot found the bottom corner in the fifth minute of the game and then Blake clipped the top of the crossbar soon after as the away side threatened to run riot. 

Cirencester managed to ride the storm until five minutes before the break when Messenger headed home from Jake Lee's knockdown to make it 1-1.

Again, like the first half, Berkhamsted started well and Oluwatobi Coker's driving run into the box ended in a clumsy challenge that brought about a penalty kick. Lacey stepped up and made no mistake to reestablish the visitors' lead. 

Messenger responded just six minutes later as he again provided the finishing touch to make it 2-2, but Watkins showed quick feet to take him past a few defenders in the Ciren box before finding the bottom corner and making it 3-2. 

With ten minutes to play, the home side thought their luck was in when Aidan Bennett's volley was diverted into his own net by Kinnane. 

It would have been a precious point in Cirencester's play-off push but Blake was on hand to poke home the winner in the third minute of stoppage time. 

As a result, Cirencester missed out on the chance to cut the gap on those in the play-off spots. They remain four points adrift in seventh place.