ST IVES Town’s FA Cup preliminary round replay at AFC Sudbury on Tuesday went to extra time, but ultimately ended in disappointment.

AFC Sudbury 3-2 St Ives Town

ST IVES Town’s FA Cup preliminary round replay at AFC Sudbury on Tuesday went to extra time, but ultimately ended in disappointment.

The Saints lost 3-2 in Suffolk after drawing 0-0 with the Ryman League side at the first attempt, but co-manager Jez Hall wasn’t going to moan about his team’s performance on the trip back to Huntingdonshire.

“Yes, it is disappointing to lose in the last few minutes,” he said. “We were pleased with how the lads performed.

“They showed great spirit and character. There were some excellent performances but the whole team played well.”

It was a 25-yard strike from Sudbury’s Dan Emmanuele in the 116th which sent St Ives packing after the clubs had finished their second 90 minutes at 2-2.

In front of a crowd one short of 200, Sudbury had taken an early lead with another 25-yard strike, from David Lorimer, which beat goalkeeper Niall Conroy-Owen on 16 minutes. And it looked one-way traffic when Lorimer increased the home side’s lead with a second goal on 20 minutes.

But the Saints weren’t going to be sent back to Westwood Road without a fight and Conor Washington, Guy Last and Matthew Bannister all had chances in the first half.

St Ives eventually got their first goal back on 60 minutes, Washington finding the net after a great ball from Jamie Alsop, and it was Washington again who scored the equaliser on 83 minutes to take the game into extra time.

But, just as a penalty shoot-out was looming, Emmanuele resolved the issue with his wonder-strike just four minutes from the end of extra time.