In what was at times a niggly tetchy match, not helped by a poor refereeing performance, the lads stuck at it, toughed it out and earned a deserved 1-0 win over Hollands & Blair to take us to the Preliminary Round.

The sound of the kick-off whistle had barely died away when a Hollands & Blair player made a lunging challenge on the touchline on halfway between the benches. In anyone's book it was a reckless challenge and an obvious yellow card under Law 12.1 – not so as the referee just had a word applying some unwritten law of first minute leniency. Sadly, this set a tone for the rest of the match. The first good move of the game came in the third minute as our captain Conor Wilford took the ball on his chest, passed to Ousmane Balde Dansoko to drive to the bye line and then find Khavarn Williams for him to win a corner. In the play following the corner, Jimmy Williams had a shot charged down but a foul then relieved the pressure on Hollands & Blair. On 6mins Williams K was making progress on the left and played in Stephen Hodge to burst into the box and win another corner. The corner came to nothing but the lads were playing the better football and two minutes later it was Williams K again on the right this time to set Williams J away. Breaking down the wing his ball into the box but it was too low to cause any trouble.

The players were linking together well in our third competitive match and on 19mins Hamza Abubakari, Williams K and Wilford all linked up to play in Hodge in the box but Hollands & Blair cleared. Hollands & Blair won a free kick but our defence cleared the ball upfield to Balde Dansoko who with one player to beat would be clear and away. However, he was pulled back and somehow this was not worthy of a yellow card for stopping a breakaway. The free kick came to nothing and with twenty minutes played it had been an all action game between our footballing style and Hollands & Blair's more direct physical one.

Into the latter part of the first half and on 25mins Hollands & Blair broke clear of our backline and for probably the first time there was no offside flag. Jack Porter was quick to come across to the left and close down at the expense of a corner. From the corner the ball found the back of the net but the referee correctly called a foul on our keeper Tom Marshall. Two minutes later Williams J played a lovely crossfield ball from the right touchline to the left to find Hodge. He drove into the six yard box and found Balde Dansoko but as he received the ball it flicked up onto his hand for the inevitable free kick. As we past the half hour, a move across from the left by Williams K found Wilford on the right and he tried to slip the ball down the right to Williams J but just got the direction wrong. On 34mins Williams K made space for a shot from a central position that was blocked however he got the ball back but got right under it so it flew over the bar.

Into the last ten minutes, Williams J was blocking a shot from Hollands & Blair on the left side outside the box and as he fell, his arm breaking his fall was hit by the ball. Incredibly it was given as hand ball when it was clearly ball to hand. I suppose we should consider it lucky it was outside the box. You could see Hollands & Blair lining up a direct shot and so it proved as it skimmed off the top of the bar for a goal kick. On 39mins with Hollands & Blair trying to crowd our keeper, Marshall claimed a corner well despite the pressure. A minute later Luke Richardson stroked one of those lovely balls from the back to find Abubakari. He controlled it nicely and set up Wilford for a shot but it was rising the moment it left his boot. As the half was drawing to a close, we had possession on the right and as yet another foul came in there was a good decision of advantage that allowed the move to continue. Balde Dansoko received the ball and took a shot but he couldn't generate enough power to trouble the keeper. Hollands & Blair had a couple of chances before half-time but a lack of quality on a cross from the right saw it fly wide and behind, then a crossfield ball was covered by Hodge who drew a foul. A very lively half ended all square and goalless – who would have the better team talk?

On the front foot from the start, good link up between Williams K, Balde Dansoko and Abubakari saw his shot blocked and Balde Dansoko's follow up shot rise over the bar. In the second minute Balde Dansoko was into the box with just the keeper to beat but his effort was saved as the watching Lingers groaned as the expected opening goal did not materialise. On 7mins Jason Stripp delivered a free kick from the left into their box. Porter won the ball and it came to Williams K who wriggled with the ball on the edge of the box but his shot was over the bar.

This time nine minutes of the half had elapsed as Tyrone Magala-Bryan was first to a loose ball when Hollands & Blair made a second reckless challenge in almost the exact same spot as the one in the first half. Given the niggly nature of the match at times, it was no surprise that there was a heated response to the challenge before the referee made his decision. His explanation for producing a yellow card as opposed to the expected red was that while the challenge was reckless he did win the ball. Back to Law 12.1 again and the referee looked to have been correct as for a red card it would require 'excessive force' but it is a fine line and may not have happened if he had issued a yellow card in Minute One.

On 58mins it looked like Balde Dansoko was clear and away only for the flag to go up. A minute later William K won the ball well and teed up Wilford for a volley but he just got it wrong as it went wide of the goal. An hour played and time for a change as Balde Dansoko was replace by Keanan Allessani. On 62mins we had a free kick on the left just outside the box and in the perfect place for a Wilf Special. With a goal in each of our opening games, and good free kick goal in the friendlies, the skipper Wilford stepped up to the ball and put it into the net for the opening goal. A deserved lead but still plenty of time left and a second would be very welcome. Just three minutes later Abubakari linked up with Williams K to give Wilford the chance of shot from the left but it was rising from the moment he hit it. At least Wilford was finding space for chances and on 66mins a ball out from Hodge found him again for a shot dragged wide of the goal.

On 69mins there was a demonstration of why a second goal was needed as a long ball into our box resulted in a challenge between Marshall, Magala-Bryan and a Hollands & Blair player for the ball. Marshall had the ball and looked to have been fouled to lose the ball with it allowing the Hollands & Blair forward to have a shot but put it over the bar. It would not have counted as the foul was awarded. A second change as having put in a great shift, Williams K was replaced by Elliot Cannon. The next change on 72mins was enforced as never one to back off, Richardson went in for a 50:50 challenge and took a blow on his bandaged knee from a challenge during Tuesday evening's win over Saltdean United. This time he could not continue and George Branton came on for his first appearance of the season.

Cannon made space to have a good shot on 74mins but their keeper made a good save and Hodge could not reach the rebound. Inside the last fifteen minutes and Hollands & Blair were pushing for the equaliser with a corner from the right. It was cleared but put back in under the bar only to find Branton on duty to head it off the line. It was another corner but Hollands & Blair failed to keep up the pressure on us by putting it straight out behind for a goal kick with 79mins played. There was no doubt we had some pace up front and a ball forward on 83mins had Allessani in chase and winning the ball to then beat two defenders and have a shot that was blocked although it certainly looked like he had been pulled back inside the box. While Abubakari chased the loose ball it was clear that Allessani had been injured in the challenge and possibly quite seriously. After treatment he was carried off having hurt the knee of his standing leg in the challenge but without the need for a stretcher.

A second enforced change of the half as Kobi Asante came on with just four minutes of the match remaining – or so we thought. With time running out Hollands & Blair were desperate for the equaliser to bring us back to the Star Meadow in midweek for the replay. A corner on 88mins was cleared behind for another one and this time our skipper Wilford took the lead and headed it clear. Into added time, Magala-Bryan was in place to make another block but in the third added minute it was a queue of players lining up to take shots. Wilford, Asante, Abubakari and Stripp all fired in efforts that were saved, blocked or headed clear as we were left wondering how it was 2-0. We were again a minute later as Cannon set Asante free to take on the keeper but he made the block – oh for a dinked finish over the keeper.

As added time kept coming, it was becoming very nervy as the lads were sucked deeper towards our goal. In the sixth added minute, Marshall saved a free kick from the right edge of the box. A corner followed with their keeper coming up and then a second corner followed but before it could be taken their keeper kicked out at Marshall in the view of the officials. A predictable straight red card followed and there was a delay while Hollands & Blair brought on their substitute keeper to go straight up for the delayed corner. In the process of clearing the corner, Abubakari kicked the studs of a Hollands & Blair player and was hobbling. With twelve minutes of added time played – yes that is 12 – Chace Hanmer came on the replace Abubakari for however much longer we were going to play. While trying to keep the ball down in the corner, Hollands & Blair had one final long ball in the sixteenth minute of added time that found the head of their central defender but thankfully his header just looped up and dropped into Marshall's hands. Finally, with 5pm behind us, the marathon match was finally ended by the whistle and The Lingers had held out to win 1-0.

Our first FA Cup win since 2022 has earned us a place in the Preliminary Round on 17 August with a visit to another SECFL side in Larkfield & New Hythe after their 2-1 home win over fellow SECFL side Kennington. Having avoided a replay, the lads have a break with our next fixture being a week on Wednesday at home to Hassocks. Nine SCFL teams are still in the FA Cup at the moment with two sides facing replays in midweek. There have been four all SCFL ties. Notable results in the round have been our early season leaders Petersfield Town losing 0-5 on a visit to their former Wessex League opponents Baffin Milton Rovers and Wick being on the end of seven goals on their visit to Merstham.