ELY City moved into the second round of the FA Vase after a battling 3-2 win over Eynesbury Rovers.The Robins have been in resurgent form since the return of boss Denis Lightning a fortnight ago and showed their battling qualities once more at the week

ELY City moved into the second round of the FA Vase after a battling 3-2 win over Eynesbury Rovers.

The Robins have been in resurgent form since the return of boss Denis Lightning a fortnight ago and showed their battling qualities once more at the weekend as they recovered from 2-1 down to secure the win.

Boss Lightning, said "We should have been three or four goals clear at half-time but we only managed the one and we knew that they would come at us in the second-half.

"We didn't panic when they got in front and we played some brilliant football to get back in the game and I think Tony Brown's goal was well worth the win itself."

Brimming with confidence following wins over Wivenhoe and King's Lynn Reserves, Ely started the game at a searing pace and soon had the visitors under siege as Nick Impey and Robbie Mason excelled.

It was Mason who came up with the first real opportunity of the half as, a little more than 10 minutes in, he collected a half-cleared ball on the edge of the box and thundered a volley goal wards, only to see it cannon off the bar.

Ely continued to pour forward in the ensuing minutes and finally got the breakthrough their endeavour promised after 20 minutes as the Robins were afforded a penalty following a handball in the box.

Tony Beck made no mistake with the resulting kick and handed the Robins an early lead. In the minutes that followed Ely had a number of excellent chances to pull two or three goals clear, but a combination of bad finishing and excellent goalkeeping conspired to keep their lead to a single goal.

Minutes short of half-time Eynesbury provided a portentous reminder of the fragility of Ely's lead as a header clattered off the bar.

Despite an uproarious first-half performance, Ely emerged for the second 45 an altogether more sluggish and fragile team, and, a little more than 15 minutes into the half, Eynesbury had stormed into an arguably deserved lead as they capitalised on Ely's catatonic state.

The gravity of Eynesbury's quick-fire salvo took time to impact upon Ely but, a minute short of the hour mark, they were roused from their slumber as Mason latched onto precision through ball to slide home Ely's equaliser.

With parity restored, Ely committed numbers to the search for a winner, and the gamble paid off with just nine minutes left as Tony Brown seized on a half-cleared goal-kick and smashed home from range.

The win, Ely's third in as many games, sees them safely through to the second round of the vase, with a trip to Stanway Rovers their next test.