Ramsgate 2-2 Dartford (4-5 on pens)

In a game which almost defies description, Dartford finally got the better of a lively Ramsgate side bearing the typical trademark style of manager Jim Ward.

The object of Tuesday evening’s encounter was progress to the next round and this was attained.

A massive snarl up in the tunnel/M25 meant a one-hour delay in the arrival of the coach, forcing Tony Burman to ferry his players to Southwood Stadium in cars – the second time this season pre-match preparations have been disrupted.

While it was a competitive encounter, the cup-tie enabled Darts to blood a couple of fringe players and provide a loosener for players returning from the injury list.

Ramsgate on a cold, wet Tuesday evening is a forbidding setting and the opening forays were inconclusive.

In fact, the only item of note in the first half was the dismissal of Danny Dafter for the accumulation of two rather innocuous yellow cards.

Immediately on the restart, Ramsgate conceded a penalty for handball, drawn to the referee’s attention by a vigilant assistant and calmly converted by Adam Gross.

Ramsgate appeared to be geed up by this and Rhys Lawson sent Gary Mickleborough up the left and his low cross was turned past Tony Kessell by Sam Jones five minutes later.

The home side then took the lead on 55 minutes when Gary Lockyer volleyed home from a left-side corner.

Stung, Burman’s side reacted and levelled matters when Danny Crouch notched his first Darts’ goal by converting a typical Ryan Hayes cross into the box from way out on the right in the 68th minute.

Ramsgate might have snatched victory late in the game but for a masterly save from Kessell.

So to extra-time, which nobody seemed to want, and then to penalties.

Conversions from Karl Dent, Crouch, Hayes, John Beales and Danny Harris saw Darts go through 5-4.

Dartford: Kessell, Burgess, Gross, Coyle, Beales, Dafter, Harris (Hayes 67), Noble, Haworth (May 55), Burns, Crouch. Subs not used: Heffernan, Dent, Young. Att: 177.