Lismore Thistles showed the improvement under new coach Nick Winkler-Maloney with a fighting display at Byron Bay that had the home side desperate to hear the final whistles.

With the Rams knowing first place on the table came with a win and Thistles after two successive wins battling for an unlikely place in the top four, both teams had plenty on the line as they met in terrible weather conditions at the Byron Bay Memorial Recreation Grounds.

Byron led by two goals at half-time with goals to Lisandro Luaces and Tai Naughton.

However Winkler-Maloney's advice worked on his young side as they came back and to the home side's astonishment scored three quick goals to take a shock lead.

Then the match turned on its head with Byron awarded a penalty and the chance to equalise.

The Rams' Diego Vazquez stepped up and had to take his spot kick three times for a goal to be counted. The referee ruled out the first attempt for encroachment, the second attempt was saved by Thistles young goalkeeper Eamon Wilde but the referee said Wilde had come off the line, and finally Vazquez's third attempt counted.

Winkler-Maloney and his players were incensed with the decision to award Vazquez a third attempt to score.

"The drama of the penalty unsettles the Thistles outfit and it was Byron who responded best: scoring the next two goals through Oliver Stautner and Miguel Ferrer to wrestle back control of the match," Byron Bay FC said on its website.

However, Thistles did not give up and continuing to push forward and scored a fourth goal and tried to grab an equaliser. After four minutes of injury time, the full time whistle was blown and Byron won one of the most thrilling second half performances in Football Far North Coast history by a score of 5-4.

"I was very proud of my boys we fought hard," said Winkler-Maloney.

Thistles goals came from Isaac Essery, Jye Wilson, Wigley Drew and James Fennamore. It was the first goals in Premier league for Drewe and Fennamore.

"Fennamore was a junior for Thistles for a while until he moved away to play soccer for the Brisbane Roar Junior side but since the Queensland border closing he was forced to come home and we picked him up for the last few rounds of the season," said Winkler-Maloney.

Football Far North Coast Premier League Round 7

Richmond Rovers 0 Bangalow 2

Byron Bay 5 Lismore Thistles 4

South Lismore 2 Maclean 1

Goonellabah 1 Alstonville 3

Point score: South Lismore 20, Byron Bay 19, Bangalow 16, Goonellabah 14, Alstonville 13, Lismore Thistles 9, Maclean 9, Richmond Rovers 4

Football Far North Coast Premier League Round 8

Bangalow v Lismore Thistles, JSField, Friday, 8pm,

Maclean v Alstonville, Wherritt Park, Maclean, Saturday, 5pm,

Byron Bay v Richmond Rovers, Byron Bay Sunday, 12:30pm,

South Lismore v Goonellabah, South Lismore, Sunday, 2pm