Soccer-Bolivar denied title in 100th minute after five sent off

LA PAZ, Dec 22 ( Reuters) - Bolivar missed out on winning the Bolivian league after they conceded a goal in the 10th minute of injury time and lost 3-2 at Sport Boys Warnes after five players had been sent off.

Bolivar, who were playing against eight men when they let in the third goal, finished level on points with The Strongest who beat San Jose 7-2, forcing the two sides into a playoff match on Friday.

Needing a point to win the Apertura championship, Bolivar twice came from behind and were heading for a 2-2 draw when pandemonium broke out two minutes into stoppage time.

Sport Boys had Cristian Coimbra sent off for an ugly tackle but the incident sparked a brawl in which players pushed and threw punches at each other, with members of the two benches joining in.

Jherson Cordoba and Alejandro Melean of Sport Boys were dismissed along with Juan Carlos Arce and Gaston Cellerino from Bolivar.

Bolivar were on the point of celebrating the title until Carlos Eduardo Vargas popped up in the penalty area to score the winner from close range. (Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Tony Jimenez)