A miss conversion from almost right in front of the posts has proved costly, Bay of Plenty suffering a shock 17-15 defeat to Manawatu on Thursday.
The win was only the Turbos' second of the season, and their first in Rotorua since 1951.
It was a disappointing loss for the Bay of Plenty, who missed a golden chance to close the gap between fifth and fourth in the Championship standings.
It was a night of lost opportunities for the hosts as Kaleb Trask missed a crucial conversion with 13 minutes to go, then came up short with a desperate 50m penalty attempt off the final kick of the game.
Manawatu proved far more accurate and made the most of their limited opportunities in the match.
The Turbos led 14-3 at the breaks thanks to tries from halfback Jamie Booth and first-five Sam Malcolm.
The Steamers came out strong in the second half, and eventually found the try-line when Aaron Carroll crashed over with 13 minutes remaining.
That is when Trask's conversion hit the posts and went wide.
Centre Luke Campbell scored the Steamers' second with 90 seconds remaining to set up a thrilling finish.
Trask then had a 50m penalty goal to win the match, but his long-range attempt landed 5m short of the posts.
Bay of Plenty will look to bounce back in a must-win clash against Otago in Dunedin next Wednesday, while Manawatu faces Hawke's Bay next Friday in Napier.
Newshub.
