It was always going to take something special to beat Chris Edmonds, Farnham's in-form goalkeeper, and it came in the 108th minute of an engrossing FA Vase tie at the Memorial Ground on Saturday.

Edmonds had withstood everything that Ryman League side Aveley could throw at him, but was finally beaten by a shot out of nowhere, a 35-yard howitzer from substitute Larry Blunden that was placed to perfection inside the goalkeeper's left-hand post.

The goal was hard on the heroic Edmonds and also the excellent central defenders, Lee Raby and Vince Decicco, who had hardly put a foot wrong in containing Aveley's combative front-runners.

Full-backs Gareth Slessor and Paul Hatton had been equally unyielding and Aveley, the Ryman Division Three leaders, struggled long and hard to subdue the Combined Counties League side.

They never really did and had Farnham been a bit more positive when their own chances came along, they could have taken another step forward in the prestigious Vase.

Farnham should have concentrated more on pulling Aveley wide. The visitors' big, if overweight defenders gobbled up everything in the air, but looked vulnerable when Farnham switched their attack to the flanks.

Town will look back on a couple of openings midway through the first half that could have changed the course of the game. A mis-directed header by Tony Leary allowed Ben Cooper to sprint clear, but the youngster lacked the confidence to hit the ball early with his right foot and eventually ran into heavy traffic.

Ten minutes later, it was Cooper who whipped in a dangerous long cross from the right and Alan Morgan's glancing header dropped just the wrong side of the far post.

Andy Nunn and his coaching team had done their homework well. A frustrated Aveley were frequently caught offside and when they were awarded the odd free-kick, Farnham were always alert to the menace of beefy full-back Billy Goldstone, the former Billiericay player, who packs a fearsome shot.

However, Aveley were unlucky not to take the lead just before half-time when player-manager Steve Mosely's blockbusting free-kick was parried by Edmonds and Jamie Reilly's follow-up shot hit the upright.

Aveley stepped up the pace after the interval, forcing Edmonds to make a string of good saves. But again it was Farnham who came closest to ending the stalemate.

Slessor's high ball was knocked on by Williams and with goalkeeper Darren Smith stranded off his line, Morgan, under pressure, couldn't quite direct his shot on an unguarded goal.

It was becoming a battle of attrition on the heavy surface, with more rain falling, and Scott Hooper's accurate passing stood out in the hurly-burly of the midfield contest.

Both teams introduced fresh legs, but the conditions took a toll on referee Steve Creighton, who was having an excellent game, and he had to retire with a tweaked hamstring, to be replaced by a linesman, with Farnham physio Andy Dexter now patrolling the line.

Aveley only began to look like a higher-ranked side in extra time and were denied the lead when the tough Decicco got his body in the way of another free-kick missile from Mosely.

Bizarrely, the stand-in official whistled for the end of the first period when substitute Arron Wright was through in a one-on-one with Edmonds, a decision that infuriated Aveley and brought forth loud chuckles from manager Nunn.

But Farnham's brave resistance was finally ended early in the second period when Blunden unleashed his unstoppable drive to beat the valiant Edmonds.

Farnham: Edmonds, Hatton (Snowdon 74 mins), Slessor, Raby, Decicco, Edwards, Brown (Middleton 115 mins), Hooper, Cooper, Morgan, Annetts. Subs (not used) Williams, Moore. Booked: Edwards, Raby.

Aveley: Smith, Goldstone, Leary, Mosely, Davidson, Fulling (Wright 67 mins), Mas, Hazle, Gredley (Blunden 82 mins), Leslie, Reilly. Subs (not used) Bird, Taylor, Butterfill. Booked: Davidson.