Margate 1 Potters Bar Town 2

FA Cup third qualifying round

Potters Bar Town defied the odds to keep their FA Cup dream alive.

The Scholars put in a superb performance to see off Ryman League Premier Division Margate in Kent on Saturday.

The hosts started well, but failed to create any clear opportunities in the first 20 minutes.

And it was the visitors who nearly broke the deadlock in bizarre circumstances, when Andy Keepence saw a free-kick from the halfway line bounce over the home keeper Scott Chalmers-Stevens and clip the bar.

This sparked Potters into life, and they took the lead in the 21st minute. Keepence played a through ball to Gabriel Fanibuyan and the speedy striker cut inside his marker before drilling a 25-yard effort low into the corner.

Margate, reputed to have the second highest wage bill in the entire Ryman League, responded with their first shot on target, but James Pinnock's 24th-minute effort on the turn lacked power.

A lengthy delay for an injury to keeper Richard Hayward did not upset the visitors, who were now playing a more confident passing game.

Two minutes before the break, Dean Harding pressurised a Margate defender into an underhit back pass, which Phil Turner raced in to intercept. Chalmers-Stevens rushed from goal and tripped Turner with an outstretched arm to concede a penalty. Captain Ryan Harris drilled the spot kick beyond the home keeper to give Potters Bar a two-goal interval lead.

Jay Saunders should have brought the home side back into the game just after the break, but his free header from a corner was well wide.

At the other end, the Scholars could have wrapped it up. Daniel Talbot's free-kick from near the corner flag found the head of Harris, but the ball thumped off the crossbar. The rebound fell to Richard Howard, who headed the ball back towards the goal, only for a defender to head clear.

Margate came straight back, but Lee Protheroe should have done better than volley well over from the corner of the six-yard box.

Kieron Woodward was then on hand to clear a Danny Hockton header off the line following a corner.

As the game moved into its closing stages, the visitors looked the likelier to add a third. A superb crossfield pass from Harding found fellow wide man Woodward in acres of space, but his 20-yard drive just failed to curl sufficiently and whistled wide of Chalmers-Stevens' far post.

Four minutes from time, Margate's player-manager Robin Trott sold his goalkeeper short with a cushioned back header and Turner pounced on to the loose ball. As the forward tried to clip it over the onrushing Chalmers-Stevens, the home custodian handled outside his area and, as the last line of defence, was promptly sent off.

With a minute of stoppage time played, Hayward missed a high cross for the first time all afternoon and the ball fell to Hockton, who drove it home via a slight deflection.

Steve McKimm was then sent off for the hosts following an incident with Harris and there was no way back for Margate.