Woodford Town locked horns with Harlow Town for the second time in five days, with the two sides facing off, after a 97th-minute penalty from Marko Protic on Saturday afternoon sent the Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round tie to a replay!

In what was an evenly contested first half between The Woods and the visitors, neither side managed to find a clear-cut chance and headed into the break on level terms. However, the next 75 minutes of action replicated the final few moments of the original tie at the Pardus Wealth Stadium, in which both sides scored in the dying moments of stoppage time.

Shane Baptiste's side came out on top after the interval and nearly took the lead through Normand Kebi and Marko Protic, before they finally found a breakthrough. Dimi Christou, who had been on the pitch for less than two minutes, rocketed an effort past James Pellin in the Harlow goal to put The Woods ahead with 56 minutes on the clock!

But, less than a quarter of an hour later, The Hawks hit back and levelled the tie through Gavin Cockman. Both sides then had opportunities to put themselves in front - firstly, Christou hit the post directly from a corner, before a Harlow attacker had rounded Manny Agboola but lost control of the ball with an open goal gaping.

Little did the hosts know, their sustained pressure in the second half would be rewarded with four minutes of regulatory time remaining. Dion Johnston beat his man and reached the bye-line before cutting the ball back, and with Christou waiting, he struck a shot towards goal which found its way into the back of the net! As it looked like Woodford may have managed to nick a win, Joe Dearman ensured they were pegged back for a second time with an 89th-minute equaliser, sending the tie into extra time.

With both sides tiring as the game continued well into the night, there was very little action in the final half-hour, although Myles John did crash a volley off the bar, before Pellin managed to recover and deny The Woods from taking the lead from the rebound, producing a magnificent stop on his line.

And with the tie looking increasingly likely to go all the way to a penalty shootout, there was still time for one more magical moment - a true epitome of the Emirates FA Cup! Luke Steele curled a cross into the box, which was met by substitute Alex Kozak, and he guided a header into the far corner to secure a 117th-minute lead, sending Ashton's Stadium into raptures! There really was no better time for Kozak to register his first goal for the Club!

Woodford held firm, securing a pivotal victory and setting up a First Qualifying Round tie with Newmarket Town, scheduled for Saturday, 30th August, with an official date and time to be confirmed by the Club in due course.

Starting XI: E. Agboola (GK); Steele, Mitchell-Nelson (Kirwan-Meade - 88'), M. Agboola, John; Owusu (C (Christou - 54')), Jewers, Kebi (Toussaint - 88'); Angelov (Johnston - 54'), Protic (Michael-Percil - 97'), Ipanga (Kozak - 62').

Unused substitutes: Chinyere (GK).

Attendance: 255