United did it the hard way tonight, coming from behind to beat brave Dorchester thanks to two goals in the second half of extra time. Trailing 1-0 at half time in the ninety minutes United drew level through James Constable's cool finish and then powered  past their tiring ten man hosts as subs Phil Trainer and Yemi Odubade sealed the win

Having made changes, with James Clarke, Luke Foster, Eddie Hutchinson and Jamie Guy all recalled, United created the first chance inside sixty seconds as Constable's low cross from the left was dummied by Guy, but Sam Deering's shot from the edge of the box was blocked by a desperate defender.

Guy, looking mobile and full of menace in the opening stages, was linking play well and got a shot away on ten minutes which home keeper Gareth Stewart did well to hold on to on the greasy surface, but the home side were fired up and not looking at all like a side yet to win a home league game this season. They really should have taken the lead on 20 minutes as a woefully short back pass from Foster only got half way back to Turley, who did wonderfully well to save from Mudge in a one to one.

It was a short lived moment of relief.

Inside a minute the Magpies had stolen the ball in midfield and fed the ball in behind for Mudge once more. This time he stayed calm and slotted the ball perfectly in to the bottom right corner of Turley's net to make it 1-0. Not only did it give the home side the lead it also visibly lifted their players while deflating the men in yellow.

It took them a full ten minutes to recover and start to look remotely dangerous, but a swift break and a Hutchinson header from a Murray cross at least saw them in Stewart's area, even if Kevin Hill was able to block the goalbound effort before it got to the keeper. A neat interchange from Constable and Deering and a scrambled effort from Haldane ended in Stewart's arms before the break but the better first half chances had come from the home side.

Within a minute of the restart Turley had saved well from another Mudge effort from the edge of the box but a turn from Constable inside the other area almost produced a goal as Stewart saved well at his feet inside the six yard box. There was more urgency at last but too many fifty-fifty challlenges were being lost and it needed every single player to roll their sleeves up and dig deep. To their enormous credit, they did just that. Adam Murray and Sam Deering took a grip of the game and United fought their way back in.

A magnificent Haldane cross on 57 found Guy six yards out but his header was somehow blocked by the flying limbs of Stewart on the line, Clarke thundered forward and thrashed his shot inches wide on 61 with the keeper beaten, and it was suddenly a proper cup tie with United committing everything they had.

You can't have it both ways; on Saturday boss Darren Patterson was booed for his substitutions but tonight he got it right as the introduction of  Odubade and Trainer and a change of formation proved the turning point. On 77 minutes Deering swung in a corner from the left which flicked off of a scrum of people at the near post. Quite why Constable was unmarked at the far post will haunt the Dorchester defence, but there he was to bury the ball past the helpless Stewart from six yards.

United had deserved the goal for their perseverance and could have had a penalty as Constable looked to be tripped inside the area moments later, but with Dorchester tiring there were more chances to come. Odubade tricked his way through on 82 but again could find no way past the excellent Stewart at the near post, Deering had an effort hacked off the line a minute later and the best cup competition in the world was working its magic again. All thought of tactics and shape were gone and both sides were just slugging it out in time-honoured fashion instead.

And so to extra time...

With Deering outstanding in the hole behind the front men and Trainer adding fresh legs and a goal threat it was now United running the show, and seven minutes into extra time a foolish late challenge from behind from Jamie Gleeson on Deering led to a second yellow card and the home side down to ten men.

A superb sidefooted shot from twenty yards from Hutchinson produced yet another great save from Stewart down at the base of his left hand post with two minutes left of the half, Deering rocketed another effort into the keeper's grasp in the second minute of the second period, and Dorchester were dead on their feet and hanging on like John Sergeant in front of the judges.

Could United finish them off? Cometh the 109th minute cometh the Power. Deering, inspired, weaved yet another moment of magic and chipped the ball to the far post where Trainer lurked and applied a clinical final header past the despairing Stewart.

Even better, in injury time a great through ball from Trainer found Odubade with half the pitch to play in and he raced clear to finish simply past the helpless Stewart.

A great game to watch and real character from The U's in a terrific cup tie. They go on to face Torquay United away in the second round. Come and join us

Report by Chris Williams

Attendance: 1474

Away: 264

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