A goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time condemned Albion to a 2-1 home defeat against Blackburn Rovers in Premier League 2 on Monday.
Defender Ed Turns was shown a straight red in first-half stoppage time just after midfielder Jensen Weir had broken the deadlock.
Substitute Jack Spong was inches away from doubling Albion’s lead when he struck the underside of the bar, but Rovers levelled through substitute Connor McBride’s penalty 12 minutes from time before Sam Durrant found bottom corner five minutes into stoppage time.
It was harsh on the home side, who had been organised and resilient in the second half.
Both sides had been guilty of surrendering possession and struggling in the final third for much of the first period.
Carl Rushworth made a couple of routine saves while Albion’s best chances in the first 44 minutes came from set pieces with Leonard heading Teddy Jenks’ corner into the side netting and Weir squandering a good position at a central free-kick 20 yards out which he failed to get on target.
But then in the space of two minutes Albion went in front – before losing defender Turns to a straight red card.
Weir broke the deadlock when he finished off an excellent move just before the break with a low right-foot shot inside the right-hand post from just outside the box. Credit should go to Jose Izquierdo, who picked him out with a fine pass from the left.
Moments later, though, Turns launched into a challenge on defender Danny Pike and referee Lamport had no hesitation in showing him a straight red card, to add to the yellows he had already shown Leonard, Reda Khadra and Romaric Yapi.
Albion reorganised into a compact 4-4-1 and while Blackburn enjoyed plenty of possession at the start of the second half, Albion’s only scare in the first 20 minutes of the second half came when Jenks sliced a clearance against the corner of his own post and bar.
The hosts then started to threaten on the counter as Blackburn committed more men forward and they had two great chances in the space of two minutes. First, Danny Cashman sliced his shot wide from a great position ten yards out before fellow substitute Jack Spong hit the underside of the bar from the edge of the box after Rovers failed to clear.
Albion were made to pay in the 78th minute when Sam Packham’s nudge on substitute Connor McBride was spotted by the ref and McBride sent Rushworth the wrong way as he made it 1-1 from the penalty spot.
Now it was the visitors in the ascendancy again. Ayo Tanimowo nodded Sam Burns’ goalbound header off the line but as the game went into stoppage time it looked as if Albion’s hard work would be rewarded with a hard-earned point.
But with seconds to go Isaac Whitehall found Sam Durrant in space and he drilled a low shot into the bottom corner and the visitors had won it in dramatic fashion.
Albion: Rushworth, Yapi (Spong 69), Tanimowo, Leonard, Turns, Tsoungui, Khadra (Cashman 63), Weir, Vukoje, Jenks, Izquierdo (Packham 45).
Subs not used: Desbois (GK), Eneme.