Cropredy travelled to Buckinghamshire to face Finmere for the first time since the club’s Banbury and Lord Jersey League days in this Last 16 tie having been awarded a bye in the first round.

Both teams have had their respective struggles this season and so this cup game represented an opportunity to gain some much needed confidence.

In Cropredy’s first game for 28 days Jake Butler travelled with a party of 12 players including a debut for Lithuanian winger Dziugas Ringys. There were little signs of ring rust initially though as Crop came close through a header from Issac Locke from a corner. Cropredy were enjoying some early possession but almost fell behind and needed their ‘keeper on hand to deny a one on one situation.

The first half then became a scrappy affair with clear cut chances limited for both sides. Dan Wood had delivered a succession of high quality corners but none of which were converted until just after the half hour mark when the ball fell fortuitously for Dillon Quaedivieg to tap home. Cropredy almost doubled their lead shortly after when Callum Moon was one on one with the Finmere goalkeeper but it was the home side’s man between the sticks turn to perform heroics.

HT Finmere 0-1 Cropredy

Early in the second period Alfie Ratcliffe had a shot tipped over the crossbar to deny him a first Cropredy goal for his boyhood club after some neat build up play in the process. Soon after, a good run by Quaedivieg played Frankie Blee in but his dinking shot was cleared off the line by a covering defender.

Cropredy weren’t to be denied a second though and doubled their lead in emphatic style. Quaedivieg brought the ball down on his thigh inside the Finmere penalty area and set himself perfectly for a delicious volley home. It was just reward for an excellent personal display for the Crop midfielder.

With just half an hour played Cropredy looked to have secured their passage into the next round. However, 2-0 can be a notoriously dangerous lead and Finmere grabbed one back on 69 minutes following a mix up from a corner. Just a minute later, Locke committed a foul in the penalty area and Finmere duly despatched the resultant penalty kick for an equaliser.

The game now had a proper cup tie feel to it and Cropredy were suddenly having to defend to stay alive when they had a commanding lead just five minutes earlier. However, it was Cropredy that twice came closest to winning the game at the death. Firstly, Moon beat his man inside the box and unleashed a powerful strike that clipped the outside of the post. Then, in the final minute a long kick forward evaded everyone and Blee had the chance to seal the game. He was pulled back but still managed to get a strike on goal which was saved. Penalty claims were waved away.

And so to penalties. Cropredy won the toss and opted to take first at the pavilion end. Dan Wood - whose missed penalty was decisive the last time the club were involved in a penalty shoot out two years ago to the week at Garsington - took first and made no mistake with a solid hard and low effort into the corner. Finmere too despatched their first penalty. Blee scored for Cropredy but Finmere’s next penalty hit the post to give Crop the advantage. Each penalty was dispatched including efforts for Quaedivieg and Moon and the chance was presented for Ringys (who was re-brought on for this situation) to win the game. He made it a debut to remember with the match winning strike to seal our place in the Quarter Finals.

Cropredy in fairness made it harder than it needed to be but what is the cup without drama? A much needed win and confidence boost as we head into the run into Christmas. That run starts with a home game against Graven Hill at Williamscot Road next Saturday.