WORCESTER City have reached the second round of the Isuzu FA Vase after battling past Sleaford Town in their rearranged first-round clash at Claines Lane.
Second-half goals from Connor Gater and Liam Lockett sealed a 2-0 win for Chris Cornes' men in a hotly-contested cup clash with Sleaford.
City’s keeper Haydn Whitcombe saved a fourth-minute penalty from Jacob Fenton as the hosts survived an early scare.
It was a game which saw a number of yellow cards throughout a fiery opening 45 minutes and Kyle Belmonte spent 10 minutes in the sin bin following some words with the referee.
Following a goalless first half, City stuck to their guns and found a way through just before the hour.
Izak Reid’s strong solo run proceeded a brilliant cross to Gater, who powered home a header to put the hosts 1-0 up.
Dylan Hart thought he had doubled City’s lead soon after but the linesman’s offside flag cut the celebrations short.
Sleaford pushed numbers forward late on but they couldn’t find a way past the home side and just as the rain began, City were able to finish the job.
Reid went 1-on-1 with keeper Liam Flitton and was felled, leaving the referee with an easy decision to point to the spot.
Substitute Jamie Insall stepped up and had his penalty saved, but Lockett was on hand to convert on the rebound.
Sleaford finished the game with 10 men after Ryan Flitton was shown a second yellow but it had little impact on the game in the end as City recorded an eighth win in a row in all competitions.
They will now travel to MFL Premier Division side Wolverhampton Casuals in the second-round.
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