Phelan finds the net as Dunstable FC earn FA Cup victory

Going up against a side who had thrashed Arlesey 6-0 in the previous stage, the hosts were missing centre half Charlie Milton and goalkeeper Matt Burch who were both unavailable. The Blues began the better of the two teams, but it was North Greenford who went close with a long ball over the top, home stopper Tyler Josephs keeping the scores goalless.

Dunstable then took the lead on 21 minutes when a corner was floated in and defender Kai Phelan was able to rise highest to break the deadlock. The hosts might have added a second moments later when Aiden Swaby squared the ball to skipper Jake Anthony, who saw his powerful effort blocked and hacked away from danger.

After the break, Greenford came out in a positive mood, looking for an equaliser, only to see Dunstable keep things tight at the back. The task became harder with 10 minutes remaining, Aiden Swaby receiving a second yellow card for time-wasting, as Greenford went close when they rattled the crossbar.

Dunstable managed to see the game out without any further scares, and have now pocketed around £2,500 from their two wins, as they will face Essex Senior League Premier Division leaders Woodford Town in the first round qualifying on Saturday, September 5. Boss Steve O’Reilly said on the display: “They’re a really good team. We had them watched on Tuesday night and they got a good result. They’re three (wins) from three, so we knew we were going to be in for a tough test.

"I thought we were really poor in terms of our in-possession stuff, I didn't really like us in possession. I felt that we rushed it, we didn't show any composure. We did better in the second half with that, but we still carried a threat. We had to dig in a lot, we had to have big performances from players. All the back four, Tyler in goal making his debut, were outstanding. The way the lads are working for each other and their work ethic is outstanding and that's what got us the result.

"You want to see in the early weeks of the season what your team is made of. I want to know that when we play against the best teams in our league this season we're going to be able to compete, and we know we're going to grind results out, so to be able to see the side do that, with really great out of possession work, then the boys are working incredibly hard for each other.”

On a third clean sheet in a row, he added: “Today was particularly pleasing, as we had to rejig things in that back five. It’s not just it’s the defence that’s doing it, it’s a whole team effort. Apart from one chance early on with a header, everything came from outside the area and we defended our box magnificently. It’s not just the back four, the lads are working incredibly hard in front of them too.”

The Blues, now on a four-match winning run, travel to Cockfosters this weekend.