OVERTON United required a penalty shoot-out to see off Southampton League outfit Nursling and progress in the Hampshire Intermediate Cup.
Hosts Nursling took the lead on 15 minutes and only a great save from Overton goalkeeper Sean O’Brien prevented the visitors going further behind before half-time.
Chris Lavisher fired home from close range to level the game on the hour but Nursling regained the advantage just two minutes later, a mix-up at the back leading to an own-goal.
Myles Englefield made it 2-2 on 70 minutes from Nathan Rae’s cross – and that was the way it remained at full-time.
A soft penalty award allowed the home side to go ahead for the third time in the game during the first period of extra-time. However, Lavisher scored his second of the game, this time from Danny Houseman’s corner, to level again with just five minutes left.
Lavisher then missed the first kick of the shoot-out, but Josh Dickens, Houseman, Rae and Chris Morris were all successful as Overton went through, winning 4-3 on penalties.
Manager Titch Bloomfield said: “There was a lot of effort and commitment from my guys, but the quality was not there on the day. We probably deserved to win but if we play like that against a top side, we will come off second best.”
Next up for Overton is a trip to Hampshire Premier League high-flyers Liphook United on Saturday.
“Liphook is always a tough place to go to,” Bloomfield added. “We beat them earlier in the season but they are a good side and we will need to perform better than we did against Nursling.”
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