The road to Wembley continues for Chatham as they reach the last 32 of the FA Vase after a hard fought battle with Welling Town.
It was Welling who started the game better as early as the 12th minute they nearly scored when Jesse Mansaray saw his low cross hit Pat Geddis & rebound luckily for Chatham to Dan Ellis who hacked away.
Chatham took a while to get going & it took until the 20th minute for their first attempt on goal, Jon Pilbeam received the ball 20 yards out and his shot was superbly tipped over the bar by Jack Moore.
Matt Bodkin then crossed into the area for Reece Butler but his header sailed over the bar. In the 29th minute Chatham took a deserved lead when Bodkin crossed into the area for Paul Vines who rose & headed in from 6 yards.
Welling nearly equalised against the run of play in the minutes before half time when Mansaray latched onto a rebound & saw his shot from 15 yards pushed away by Ellis straight to James Day but his shot went high over the bar.
Chatham had a couple of half chances in added on time, firstly Ike Orji laid the ball into Vines feet and the frontman twisted and turned but his shot from 15 yards was deflected for a corner.
The resultant corner saw Walker pass to Bodkin who returned the ball to him and from an acute angle his shot was blocked by Moore.
The second half saw Welling really have a go but a combination of resolute defending and poor finishing saw Chatham survive the blitz.
Minutes after the restart Mansaray saw his shot saved by Ellis and in the very next minute he found himself in the area on his own but shot well over when well set.
Chatham again took a while to get going but in the 55th minute Byron Walker saw his effort from 20 yards saved by Moore.
Welling’s task became harder when Ryan Mahal was sin binned. This enabled Chatham to take the game to Welling and in the 70th minute Chatham thought they had doubled their score.
Bodkin crossed to the back post where Vines headed back across goal for Pilbeam to head in but the referee’s assistant flagged for offside.
Five minutes later it should have been two, Orji’s slalom run saw him beat two defenders before his low cross found Pilbeam who blasted his shot over the bar from seven yards.
Chatham missed an opportunity to wrap the game up when Paul Vines saw his header cleared off the line and in the final minute Bodkin saw his 25 yard shot tipped over the bar by Moore.
However another goal was not needed as Chatham celebrated their passage through to the final 32.
Chatham Town: Ellis, Bodkin, Sheminant, Butler, Ajayi (Roberts 38), Geddis, Walker, Evans (Orji 8), Vines, Dalton, Pilbeam
Subs not used: Jeffrey, Achuba, Brown, Smith, Carey
Welling Town: Moore, Beckett, Mahal, Ojeman, Wright, Day (Fenton 78), Oshilaja, Mansaray (Bancroft 88), O’Neill (Ademitu 88),
Subs not used: Williams, Round, Tabima, Sandiford
Referee: Mr C.Pullen
Assistants: Mr T.King and Mr D.Moreno-Rojas
Attendance: 281