Aveley 2, Barnet 2

A REMARKABLE FA Cup Fourth Round qualifying match at Parkside will last long in the memory of Millers fans who saw their team battle back from conceding two early goals, getting the equaliser in the last minute to earn a replay at the Hive on Tuesday (17 October).

The draw also put them in the draw for the First Round proper, where the winners will face National North side Curzon Ashton away.

Saturday's tie saw the underdogs almost make a dream, start when Garrett Kelly was just a fraction away from getting a finishing touch to Jon Benton's cross.

But the National League high-fliers from North London soon had Aveley under the cosh and they opened up the home defence on five minutes with Harry Pritchard left in space to pick his spot and score.

Millers responded well and Charles Hughes fired wide of an empty net from distance but it was against the run of play and there was no real surprise when Ptitchard doubled his tally with a deflected strike past Jonathan North on 18 minutes.

But Aveley are a resilient side and they weathered the visitors' pressure and gave themselves real hope three minutes from the break when Matt Rush scored in acrobatic fashion with an overhead kick.

The second half was again largely dominated by Barnet and it looked as if it was all over for the Millers when first Hughes, and then Kelly, were sent off in quick succession after picking up second yellow cards.

However, there was to be a remarkable climax when Siju Odelusi found Benton and he cut inside before firing home to spark wild celebrations.

After the match Millers boss Danny Scopes said: "The comeback says a lot about the resilience and togetherness within the group.

"We have a really good squad and management team who work hard.

"If you work hard that spreads onto the pitch.

"After we settled down and limited them, we got a little bit of a foothold and our first goal was massive becasue it gavce us hope

"We go into the replay and we know we are underdogs but we're a good football club that is pushing and trying hard to build something."