Borough progressed to the next round of the AFA Senior Cup thanks to a dramatic last-minute winner in their replayed first-round tie versus Fitzwilliam Old Boys.

The game looked to be heading for penalties until a final raid down the right flank by Charlie Rose, whose cross deflected off Dean Taylor into the path of the arriving James Winward who fired high into the net from 6 yards.

Clinical finishes from Tom Bartle and Joe Barwick had put Borough into a deserved and comfortable 2-0 lead at half time. But persistence from Fitzwilliam, coupled with defensive jitters from Borough, helped the home side to pull the tie back to 2-2 and force extra time.

The jubilant scenes that followed the last-minute winner demonstrated the great relief of the squad to snatch the win at the death. It avoided a potential re-run of the penalty shoot-out defeat of two weeks prior and meant Borough finally squeezed past Fitzwilliam at the second time of asking.

The backdrop of the voided result from a fortnight before bred a tense pre-game atmosphere and the persistent rain and lack of a pitch booking to allow a warm-up prior to the 3pm kick-off created a sense of déjà-vu at Burlington Academy. However, despite the bad blood, play started in a good spirit and Wandsworth worked hard from the kick-off to establish control of the game.

Bartle’s powerful run onto Barwick’s through ball was capped with a driven finish into the top left corner to open the scoring. Barwick then turned scorer as he drilled a low shot from the edge of the box under the keeper after Rose had squared from the right-wing.

In addition to the two first-half goals, Wandsworth’s Murray Gibb and Bartle spurned clear chances to add to the first half lead: the first a spurned volley at goal after Gibb did well to lose his marker and meet an angled free-kick at the back post; the second another driving run by Bartle resulting in a one-on-one and a shot sliced wide off his weaker right foot.

Shortly before half-time a defensive lapse allowed the Fitzwilliam number 9 to latch onto an under-hit backpass, round Neil Baker, and shoot on target, only to see a recovering Andy Pym clear it off the line. A warning, but Borough were largely comfortable at half-time thanks in part to Alan Campbell’s incisiveness on the right-wing and Andy Miller’s tirelessness in the centre of the field.

Borough also began the second half with authority and the result appeared under control (unlike the floodlights on the pitch which were not turned on until after play had to be temporarily halted by the referee due to bad light). However, a defensive lapse struck again near the 60th minute. Gibb was caught waiting for a throw-in to arrive at his feet, which allowed the Fitz striker to nip in and lob the onrushing Baker.

This mistake made a comfortable position turn fragile and previously calm football from Borough became more panicked. The lack of a firm clearance or tackle on the edge of the Borough box led to a scramble in which Miller mistimed an attempted clearance and tagged an opposition player rather than the ball. Penalty correctly given and converted confidently to Baker’s right.

Borough’s plight may have been worse still when Winward passed blindly to an opposition attacker rather than a Borough shirt when trying to play out from the back. Baker saved his blushes on this occasion.

This aside, the remainder of normal time and the extra period played out in a frantic manner, with each side neither willing to relent nor able to apply the quality needed to create a final gilt-edged chance. This pattern broke in the 119th minute. It was through dogged persistence rather than craft that firstly Rose stole a march down the right and secondly Winward pushed into the box to dispatch the loose ball and send Borough through.

While nice to have the memory of a last-minute cup winner, Borough should aim to close out such matches with greater confidence, control and protection of their lead. A good result given the circumstances, but not an easy ride for the coaching staff or watching fans.