ANDOVER Town were made to rue a missed penalty once more on Saturday, as they were dumped out of the FA Vase in a 2-1 defeat to Surrey side Croydon.

Town had the opportunity to take a 2-0 lead against their South Counties East League opponents when Adam Grange was brought down inside the box on 75 minutes.

After a resultant scuffle, which earned Croydon skipper Rob Curtis a red card, Grange’s effort was saved by Francis Ameyaw.

And Andover were quickly punished as their opponents bagged two late goals to abruptly end Town’s FA Vase run.

Town travelled to south London for the game, which was played at the Croydon Sports Arena.

With the main stand and pitch separated by an athletics track, the travelling Town fans struggled to make their presence felt.

Before the kick-off, a poignant two-minute silence was held to honour those who gave their lives in conflict, as well as the seven victims who died in the Croydon tram disaster just four days earlier.

Town started well with Javier Santafe-Vivo going close early on.

Alex Dockree was then neatly set up by Zach Glasspool, but no-one was able to reach the cross.

At the other end, livewire Karl Dougan had three opportunities to convert a goalmouth scramble before goalkeeper Lloyd Thomas came to the rescue, saving well at the foot of the post.

Neither side could break the deadlock before half-time.

At the start of the second half, Andover suffered a blow when Alex Dockree limped off with an injury.

He was replaced by Lewis Gilbert.

Andover then gained a deserved lead on the hour mark when a corner taken short by Grange was directed into the path of Santafe on the edge of the area and he drilled his shot through a crowd of players and into the bottom corner.

The game’s defining moment came as the match entered the final 15 minutes. Grange’s penetrating run was ended when he was brought down in the box by Curtis and the referee pointed to the spot.

Curtis then appeared to stamp on Grange as he lay prone and this prompted an altercation with most of the players involved. Curtis was shown a straight red card and it took almost four minutes for the referee to restore order and allow the penalty to be taken.

Grange accepted responsibility but Ameyaw went the right way and saved. He immediately cleared as Andover chased back to take up their positions.

But the stretched defenders and Thomas got their wires crossed and Laurie Chin was left to sweep the ball into an unguarded net.

Extra time looked likely, but Croydon had other ideas.

Chin produced a stunning solo run down the right, shrugging off four challenges before drilling the ball to Jeff Duah-Kessie. The forward raced in at the far post to tap home and send Croydon through to the second round.

Andover return to Wessex Premier League action on Saturday with a trip to bottom-of-the-league Verwood Town.