A mouth-watering Essex Sunday Junior Cup tie on paper did not disappoint as High Easter and Social Club Birchanger served up a cracker.
Both the Braintree & North Essex Sunday League hosts and the Harlow League visitors have started the season very well but it was High Easter who got their noses in front at the final whistle, winning the first round match 2-1.
The first 20 minutes were evenly contested with both teams playing well-constructed and passing football.
By half-time there was just the one goal separating them though, Adam Griggs doing well to find Christian Roles who netted from a tight angle.
There was one down side to the half though for the home side with brave defending from Ollie Blower earning him a cut eye, just near the eyebrow, and although he was bandanged up, he played no further part in the contest.
Bitchanger were still playing well though and they will have been frustrated to concede a second while on top, Lewis Roe picking up a great pass before slipping the ball past Andrew Newman in the Birchanger goal.
The visitors doubled their efforts to try and rescue the game but they were thwarted on regular occasions by Easter's goalkeeper, Josh Breeze.
They also hit the crossbar but did eventually gain a well-deserved goal in the closing stages, Jordan Trott the scorer.
However, despite the final minutes being a bit tense, the High Easter defence held firm to claim passage into the next round where they will host St Eagles on November 7.
In the Essex Senior League, Stansted and Takeley battled to a 1-1 draw at Hargrave Park.
The Airportmen had taken the lead in the first half courtesy of Jack Mitchell goal on six minutes but the game changed with two yellow cards for Louis Monk either side of half-time.
The second of them meant Stansted played the final 35 minutes a man short and Takeley took advantage, bagging an equaliser from Glen O'Hanlon with 18 minutes to go.
Stansted have still only lost one game this season but are now down in sixth with another home game on Saturday, this one against the side two places above them, Walthamstow.
Takeley are 12th and will go to St Margaretsbury next.
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