Christchurch 1, Badshot Lea 2

A THUNDEROUS strike from Jordan Carter and a composed finish from Danilo Cadete capped a superb comeback as rejuvenated Lea roared into the first qualifying round of the FA Cup last night.

Carter cut in from the right beore unleashing a rocket shot from the edge of the box which flew into the top left corner of Christchurch goalkeeper Max Frampton’s net on 73 minutes to cancel out Callum Butler’s precise opener.

And Cadete sent the Lea travelling faithful who had made the long trip to Dorset into raptures when he smacked home the winner from close range six minutes later after excellent work from Nick Medcraft on the left.

The win at the MA Hart Stadium at Hurn Bridge against a fellow step five side who ply their trade in the Premier Division of the Sydenhams Wessex League - in an eventful match which boiled over at times and saw one red card and could very easily have seen two - puts Lea into Monday’s first qualifying round draw for the first time in seven years.

But for an hour last night it looked like being a very different story as lacklustre Lea were regularly cut open by the slick and pacy football of Christchurch’s lively forwards Kyle Graham, Matt Neale and Butler.

And it was Butler who gave the home side a deserved lead after just eight minutes when he ran onto a precise through ball from the equally effective Jon Blake and placed a delightful first-time shot into the top right-hand corner out of the reach of Lea goalkeeper Kallum Lunn.

It was no less than Christchurch deserved and came just three minutes after Graham had wastefully skied a penalty high over the crossbar after the striker was brought down by Stacey Thripp.

Beleagured Lea simply had no answer to the pace and movement of a Christchurch side which scored seven goals in the previous round and at times threatened to repeat the dose as Lea fought a desperate rearguard action, led by the excellent Liam Flanaghan, while rarely getting anywhere near the home side’s penalty area.

When Lea did get the ball, they were denied time and space as Christchurch closed quickly, snapping away and forcing the visitors into clumsy errors.

Christchurch seemed certain to double their lead on 14 minutes as Neale cut in and fired low across the six-yard box only to see the ball somehhow evade everyone as it sailed narrowly wide of the far post, full back Manny Ohajeme headed narrowly wide with Lunn stranded, and the home side were denied a clear penalty 60 seconds before the break as the officials inexplicably missed Zac Hawker’s handball.

And Hawker was let off for a second time as a horrible challenge in front of the dugouts sparked a bout of pushing and shoving which resulted in the Lea midfielder being shown a yellow card which could, and in all honesty probably should, have been red.

And Hawker, who moments later made a fine clearing header inside the six-yard box, was replaced by midfield rock Ashley Lloyd, who himself had been sent off in last Saturday’s 3-1 league defeat at Sheerwater.

But it was the introduction of the midfield enforcer on the hour which effectively changed the complexion of the game for boss Gavin Smith’s men as they turned the tie on its head in stunning fashion.

As poor as Lea had been for the first hour, they were excellent for the last 30 minutes plus the agonising seven minutes of stoppage time that the referee added on at the end.

No longer were Christchurch able to cut through so easily as Lea got a second wind, saw much more of the ball and began to crank up the pressure on the hosts, with wide men Medcraft and Cadete suddenly much more involved and stretching the play.

And it was from a throw in on the right deep inside the Christchurch half that Carter picked up the ball before slamming the ball past Frampton’s despairing dive to level the scores.

Sensing the win, the slight but tricky figure of Medcraft then did what he does best and cut in from the flank before firing a low shot just wide of Frampton’s left-hand post.

But Christchurch didn’t heed the warning and just two minutes later that man Medcraft made them pay as he chased down a ball close to the byeline and took it round the goalkeeper before squaring the ball to Cadete, who took a touch and calmly slotted home the winner despite the attentions of two Christchurch defenders on the line.

And things went from bad to worse for the stunned Wessex League side as they were reduced to ten men three minutes from time as Ohajeme was sent off for treading on Medcraft.

But the drama didn’t end there and the travelling supporters had their hearts in their mouths deep in stoppage time as Lea full back Darren Blake mistimed a tackle on Neale in the penalty area, but the winger didn’t go to ground, instead he rode the challenge and the chance went begging.

Badshot Lea: Lunn, Blake, Roberts (Armsworth 83), Hutchings, Flanaghan, Thripp, Cadete, Hawker (Lloyd 61), Williams (Smith 65), Carter, Medcraft. Subs (not used): Pound, Matthews, Ford, Lewington.