Warrington Town's gallant charge in The FA Cup is over after they narrowly missed out on a Third Round berth, going down 2-0 at Gateshead.
Despite being separated by 79 league positions, the two clubs fought out an closely contested Cup tie – with one goal separating them for the majority of the match.
Matty Pattison opened the scoring on eight minutes and Warrington remained in contention until injury time, when Danny Wright doubled Gateshead's lead following an error from goalkeeper Karl Wills.
Gateshead 2-0 Warrington Town
FA Cup Second Round Proper
Sunday 7 December
Gateshead International Stadium
Gateshead receive £27,000 from Prize Fund
Despite the narrow scoreline, Gateshead showed why they are three divisions above Warrington and in the end, quality shone through.
During the 90 minutes, the Conference side twice had efforts blocked on the line and struck the woodwork on two occasions.
After their midweek victory over Workington in the Doodson Cup, Warrington boss Shaun Reid named a full-strength side for his side’s trip to Gateshead.
Warrington fans braved the cold of the north-east and were in good spirits throughout
The hero of Warrington’s First Round Proper victory over Exeter, Craig Robinson, returned to the line-up but the defender was caught off-guard in the opening minutes as Gateshead took an early lead.
Rob Ramshaw skipped past Robinson out wide before cutting the ball back for ex-Newcastle United striker Pattison to slam high into the net from eight yards out.
And it was so nearly 2-0 when former Everton midfielder John Oster saw his effort blocked on the line midway through the first-half.
The early goal seemed to have rattled the eighth-tier side and they struggled to get a foothold in the game as Gateshead dominated possession throughout the opening 45 minutes.
James Curtis and Ben Wharton compete for possession
The second half brought more of the same from the Conference side, who continued to push for a second goal.
Pattison came close as he headed an effort onto the post, while Alex Rodman was only denied by a superb clearance off the line by Warrington’s James McCarten.
With time running out Warrington tried in vain to salvage a replay, with the pace of Ashley Ruane causing Gateshead problems.
But instead it was the hosts who found the back of net once again in the 91st minute after Wright incepted Wills’ pass out of defence, before sliding the ball into an empty net and his club into the hat for the Third Round.
