Malvern Town 2, Highgate United 1 (Replay).

MALVERN scraped into the preliminary round of the FA Cup and a home tie against Cradley Town with a goal scored in the 90th minute by Andrew Crosskey.

From a last-gasp corner, Crosskey headed the ball in at the back post and then his side had to endure a nervy seven minutes of injury-time to book their place in the next round.

Chris Palmer’s side started the brighter of the two teams and in the eighth minute Gavin Hughes sent in a chip from the left-hand side which Perry Cox finger-tipped over the bar. From the resulting corner, Joe Kings fired just over the bar.

Highgate’s first attack did not come until the 23rd minute when the referee awarded then a free-kick on the edge of their box but Tom Thacker’s shot was wide of the post.

Malvern took the lead in the 39th minute when the ball was played in from the right and Paul Edwards tapped the ball home. Three minutes later the same player tried to double the score with a free-kick which Cox reached.

In injury-time of the first period, Dave Reynolds slid the ball though to Stuart Hughes whose shot went wide.

Highgate made two substitutions at the start of the second-half.

In the 65th minute, a kick from Lewis Skyers was headed on by Edwards to Reynolds whose shot went tantalisingly across the goalmouth but out past the back post.

Skyers punched the ball out and also accidentally hit Paul Ireland as Malvern’s defence looked rather shaky.

In the 66th minute, following a corner, the ball bobbled back and forth in the goalmouth and was eventually put away by Luke Edwards.

Four minutes later another ball hit Ireland in the face and he was taken off. Highgate United 3, Malvern Town 3.

MALVERN travelled to Highgate on Saturday and were involved in a see-saw clash.

Malvern’s defence produced a poor first-half display, conceding a goal after only five minutes when, following a lack of communication between the defence and visiting keeper Skyers, Thacker scored.

Malvern equalised in the 15th minute when Hughes volleyed past keeper Cox.

The lead did not last long, as five minutes later, the ball was played to Chris Gummery on the left-hand side of the area and he volleyed home. Thacker grabbed Highgate’s third before Town again equalised when Bryan Craven’s shot went under keeper Cox and into the net in the 31st minute.

But Town went on to grab an 83rd-minute leveller when Mark Shepherd scored.