Ely City secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over ten-man Harleston Town, thanks to a late Alfie Rogers header, to send the Robins into the 1st Round of the FA Vase.

The Robins started brightly, with early threat down both flanks. Sam Townshend was sharp from the off, weaving inside off the left on four minutes before seeing a driven cross blocked. Minutes later, Tom Rigby set Charlie Sutcliffe flying down the opposite side, though his delivery was gathered by the Harleston keeper. Sutcliffe again found space on 16 minutes, smashing a dangerous ball across the face of goal that was well dealt with again by the away keeper before an Ely player could get a touch.

Controversy struck in the 17th minute when a ball lofted over the top saw Ely goalkeeper Ben Newton rush out to close down the Harleston forward, who went to ground easily, adjudged to of been inviting of contact from the home stopper. Despite furious protests from the Harleston manager, both the referee and linesman remained in agreement and unmoved.

Ely carved out the game's first clear chance on 22 minutes when Alex Brown picked up a loose ball deep and struck a low daisy-cutter just wide of the post. As the wind began to disrupt play in an increasingly untidy period, the game exploded into life on 33 minutes. Following a corner for Harleston, that was cleared under pressure by Alfie Rogers, Steph Pereira broke free on a counter-attack before being wiped out from behind by Harleston’s number 2. The referee showed an instant red card, leaving Harleston furious and down to ten men.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Harleston maintained a high press, but it was Ely who nearly broke the deadlock just before the break. Townshend turned his man on the halfway line, drove all the way into the box, and just clipped the far post with a thunderous effort on 44 minutes.

HT: Ely City 0–0 Harleston Town

The second half sparkled instantly. Straight from the restart in the 46th minute, Pereira gathered the ball and made his way forward, held the ball up brilliantly and unleashed a shot that the keeper saved well, but Townshend was on hand to tap home the rebound to give Ely a 1-0 lead.

Harleston, still remaining organised and on the front foot refused to lie down and brought themselves back level on the hour, when a corner was headed home unmarked by their centre back. They almost took the lead minutes later, but Newton did superb to stand up and spread himself at the feet of the forward and save with his feet.

Ely restored their lead five minutes later though from another direct ball in behind. A long throw caused absolute chaos in the Harleston penalty box, and after a scramble of ping-pong, Phil Mendy clipped a delightful ball toward the back post for Rogers to react and flick a header home for 2-1.

The drama was far from over. Just a minute after scoring, Rogers was then again controversially judged to have fouled his man in the box, giving Harleston a soft penalty. However, the spot-kick was blazed high over the bar, after the Harleston forward slipped, to spare Ely's blushes.

The final 15 minutes saw the ten men of Harleston still push forward with nothing to lose, forcing a series of dangerous set-pieces. Ely’s defensive resilience held firm, with sub Jamie Baxter making a crucial clearing header in the 82nd minute from a dangerous cross into the 6 yard box. The Robins also had their own chance as Rogers nearly had his second, but his looping knock down was cleared off the line. As the game entered stoppage time, Ely managed the game, retaining possession and clearing pressure down the pitch as Harleston threw everything direct and forward.

After five minutes of added time, the final whistle blew to seal a place in the next round for the Robins.

FT: Ely City FC 2-1 Harleston Town

Team; Newton, Sutcliffe, Mendy, Rogers, Hunt (C), Collins, Tarpey, Rigby, A. Brown, Pereira, Townshend.
Subs; Cook, Root, Partridge, Baxter, Logan.

Greene King Player of the Match: Phil Mendy