Injury time winner cheers Blues

The Division Two side should have had this tie sewn up inside the opening 15 minutes when they twice struck the same post and goalkeeper Peter Newstead had to pull off an acrobatic save.

It wasn't until the last 20 minutes that top flight Sidley started to rouse themselves by stringing together the occasional decent move which resulted in one or two chances. They finally made one of them count in the first minute of added time when an Adam Day free kick was curled into a congested Lingfield penalty box and McDonald rose unchallenged to plant a precise header low inside the near post.

McDonald's joy was no doubt tinged with certain amount of relief because he should have scored just moments earlier but contrived shot past the post with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The result was certainly cruel on a Lingfield side which had taken the game to their higher grade opponents and it wasn't until the second half when their energetic performance finally caught up with them that Sidley could make their supposed extra ability tell.

The visitors were first denied by the woodwork after only six minutes when Steve Willis' 20-yard drive smacked against the base of the post after Newstead appeared to get the faintest of touches. Not long after Dan Gillard saw his clipped finish cannoned off the frame of the goal and the same player forced Newstead to tip over a curling effort.

Sidley just weren't in the game and other than a strong penalty appeal after Dave Henham appeared to be held back and a couple of half chances they posed next to no threat in a disappointing first half display.

Sidley will entertain Pagham in the quarter-finals on Saturday February 3.