Gary Higdon paved the way for an incredible Melksham Town victory in The Buildbase FA Vase, as they came from two goals down to beat Bemerton Heath Harlequins 3-2 in an all-Wiltshire clash.
Hosts Bemerton found themselves two goals to the good inside 10 minutes with Jack Slade and Scott Joyce finding the target, and Town had a mountain to climb.
The deficit was halved however, on 21 minutes when Higdon tucked in a penalty after a handball inside the area, and after the interval Jake Burgess squandered two golden opportunities for Harlequins.
The Buildbase FA Vase
Third RoundSaturday 3 December 2016
Winners receive £975 from the prize fund
And they were made to pay when Ricky Hulbert drilled home a left-footed effort through a crowd of legs to level the contest on 84 minutes, before Higdon’s superb winner three minutes later.
He dribbled his way through the middle of Bemerton's defence and smashed a shot into the roof of the net to send Melksham into the fourth round of the FA Vase for the first time in their history.
Welwyn Garden City and Ely City also played out a five-goal thriller, with the visitors holding on at the end to win 3-2 and equal their best-ever run in the competition.
George Darling put them ahead five minutes before the break, but that lead did not last long as Josh Bronti equalised from the spot.
But Craig Neal and Kelvin Enaro hit quickfire goals before the hour mark to give Ely a commanding lead, meaning John McGrandles’ effort was no more than a consolation.
It was a similar story at Croydon who also won 3-2, beating Glebe largely thanks to Jeff Duah-Kessie’s double.
Glebe actually took the lead, but the Ghanian centre-forward turned the tie on its head before half-time for the Trams, and Lauris Chin made sure of the win on 77 minutes.
There were big wins for Coleshill Town, Bristol Manor Farm, Exmouth Town and Peterborough Sports.
Tom Weale scored twice inside 20 minutes as Coleshill Town beat Westfields 4-1, while Peterborough Sports won 4-0 at Wembley thanks to Josh Moreman’s double and goals from Avi Viera and Mark Jones.
Troy Simpson scored twice before half-time for Bristol Manor Farm in their 4-1 triumph over Thatcham Town, and Exmouth Town put in a five-star performance against Blackfield & Langley – Ace High, Jordan Charran (2),Cameron Vere, and Nathan Cooper all finding the net in a 5-0 victory.
Wembley Stadium connected by EE will host The Buildbase FA Trophy and FA Vase finals back-to-back on Sunday 21 May 2017.
Click here for Non-League Finals Day ticket details.
