City progressed through to the next round of the FA Vase after just squeaking through this best of seven game at home to K Sports. They were behind once and ahead twice before finally clinching victory in added time.

As the lower league team, Sports arrived with maybe a point to prove and were quickly out of the blocks dominating the opening stages. They forced several early corners and had plenty of chances to score. Laurence Harvey cut out a dangerous Sports attack at the expense of one of the corners and despite spearing them all right into the City box, they couldn’t make anything of any of these opportunities. A shot was deflected out, another was blocked and City keeper Shannon Harris made a smart save to stop a header.

The corners continued to come as City were caught back on their heels by their opponents fast start and as another one was scrambled away by the defence and one more stopped on the line by Gary Sayer, it was head in hands time for the visitors with some disbelief that they hadn’t converted at least one and opened the scoring.

This all came about in just the first ten minutes, following which, Sports finally struck when Jason Perry picked up the ball in midfield and arrowed a superb thirty yard bullet into the top corner, giving Harris no chance, for 0-1.

City were trying to get a foothold and as a Dave Pilcher corner came to nothing, they then nearly levelled when the same player’s free-kick was nicely nodded down by Josh McCallum for Harvey to swing his boot and rattle a fierce volley just wide. City’s next chance came when Sam Lawford broke through but fired wide across goal as the angle tightened. Despite this, Sports were still looking the most likely and another trio of corners, which included a great piece of defending from Harvey, heading a dangerous ball over his own bar to safety, failed to increase their lead.

City were now coming into the game and a brace of corners produced a near post low save from Sports keeper Dean Warford to deny Gary Mickelborough. Another one then fizzed across the Sports box causing them all sorts of problems but without finding a vital City touch, but as the wind picked up and the rain drove down, conditions worsened making things difficult for both sides.

It was finally time for City pressure to be rewarded though and on thirty minutes they equalised. A Pilcher free-kick was launched into the Sports box but knocked clear before a second ball came in from the left and after a bit of a scramble and with players in a pile, Harvey stayed on his feet, dug the ball out of the melee and stabbed it home from close range for 1-1.

Just two minutes later, City got their noses in front. Lawford slipped the ball through for Mickelborough to chase and he shrugged off a challenge or two before rounding the keeper and pulling a perfectly placed ball back from the byline for Sam Conlon who was on hand to knock it home, again from close range, for 2-1.

The visitors had started like an express train but were now fading rapidly and despite pleas from the bench and the keeper for more effort, their own decline became irrelevant as the bench decided to vent their frustrations on the easy targets of the officials. Perry then received a well overdue yellow card for his third bad tackle, any one or all of which probably deserved the sanction as City were now firmly on top and in control. A free-kick was hurriedly punched clear by Warford, while Darren Marsden then tried, unsuccessfully to chip the keeper from just outside the box. In the run up to the break McCallum blocked a Sports shot, while Sam Butterworth rolled the ball wide of the far City post.

Half-time came with City a goal to the good and Sports desperately needing to regain their early impetus.

The visitors were forced into an early second half change when Warford went down injured after kicking the ball and had to be replaced by substitute keeper Rhys Coates. Sports were re-energised after the break and Butterworth went close striking the ball a foot over the City bar, before going even closer volleying a bouncing ball from a miscued City clearance a few inches wide.

City weren’t really helping themselves, the miscued clearance was followed by a couple of silly fouls that led to free-kicks and then a poorly given away corner all afforded Sports the opportunity to put the hosts needlessly under pressure. As the wind got up again it wasn’t only the stand roof that was rattling, so was the City defence as a high swirling ball wasn’t dealt with and Sayer had to come to the rescue again with a brilliant goal saving blocking tackle.

The traffic was all one way and a Sports corner flashed across the City box before another piece of excellent defending by Sayer thwarted them again at the expense of another corner. City were struggling to keep them at bay and two more quickly followed. One was somehow scrambled away, before that man Sayer again, was perfectly placed to hoof the ball off the line with another goal saving clearance.

The bulk of the possession was running for Sports and City were giving the ball up far too easy for comfort. A long shot from Gabriel Luckhurst skidded up off the wet surface, but Harris went down well to get everything behind it.

Finally, City began to move up a gear. Pilcher fired over the bar, Marsden broke free before seeing his shot deflect off a defender and spiral over the bar, while from the resultant corner, Pilcher side-stepped inside and drilled a shot a foot over from out wide.

This sudden burst of City pressure counted for nothing though as on seventy-nine minutes, Sports equalised. Substitute Tyla Clements did well to get the ball over from the left and Sam Read volleyed home at the far post for 2-2.

City made their first change as Tom Walmsley entered the fray and was soon in the thick of it, exchanging passes with Conlon the pair picked their way through the Sports midfield and set up Pilcher to fire home low into the far side of the net to quickly put City back in front at 3-2.

The onus was now on Sports to respond with less than ten minutes left and they did. James Alderman shot wide from distance, while Bailey Pearce saw his effort blocked by City for another corner. Rob Lawrence acrobatically cleared the incoming kick at the near post, but a couple of minutes later, Sports drew level again when yet another corner was headed home at the far post by Liam Dawson for 3-3.

With time running out, it was anyone’s guess which way this tie would go. McCallum pulled the ball down well before shooting just wide, before, in stoppage time, City got the crucial and match-winning fourth. Walmsley battled down the right to win City a corner which Marsden fizzed across and Harvey stooped slightly to head home into the far side of the net for 4-3.

Walmsley had a chance to make it five on ninety-five but having done all the hard work, he could only fire straight at the keeper. City made sure there were to be no mishaps in the last few minutes as they robustly defended their lead – mainly down by the corner flag, although the final whistle did blow with huge relief and their opponents deep in the City half.

A topsy-turvy encounter came to an end with City just about the victors and into the hat for the next round.

City; Shannon Harris, Jamie Maxted, Gary Sayer, Gary Clarke, Laurence Harvey, Josh McCallum, Sam Conlon (Rob Lawrence), Darren Marsden, Sam Lawford (Cory Walters-Wright), Dave Pilcher, Gary Mickelborough (Tom Walmsley).
Unused subs; Ryan Aldritt, Joe Kennett.