FA Cup: Sporting Bengal 2 Clapton 0

Two late goals earned Sporting Bengal victory in their FA Cup derby with east London rivals Clapton at Mile End Stadium.

Imrul Gazi’s men had not played since their extra preliminary round replay win over Ipswich Wanderers 11 days earlier, while Tons made the short trip on the back of a 1-0 loss to London Bari in their Old Spotted Dog derby in midweek, which ended their three-match winning start to the campaign.

Both sides tried their luck with long-range efforts in the opening quarter of an hour, as strong winds made conditions difficult.

Johnny Ashman looked lively on the left for Clapton, who had a let-off when conceding possession and seeing the home side drag a shooting chance wide of the target.

Chances remained at a premium after the restart as the teams fought to gain the upper hand, with Sporting Bengal sending their first notable attempt over the crossbar.

The visitors almost snatched the lead from a corner, then hit a post from close range, before an offside flag went up.

The home side then rallied and went close, but Tons scrambled the ball behind for a corner, and the two sides looked set for a replay in midweek as the scoreline remained blank.

But Zubair Hussain then smashed a low drive past Pape Diagne from just outside the box with only four minutes remaining and David Vaughan powered home a corner in the final minute of normal time to make sure of victory and £1,925 in prize money and book a trip to Kings Langley in the first qualifying round on September 3.

Manager Gazi said: “It’s an incredible result for us. We have made Sporting Bengal history. I am incredibly proud of my lads.

“Thank you to Clapton and everyone who attended to make this such a remarkable day.”

Tons used social media to announce that Michael Walther had left his position as first-team manager at the club, before Stansted revealed he had joined them as assistant boss.

Clapton are set to host Wadham Lodge in the Essex Senior League on Tuesday.

Sporting Bengal: Esprit, S Ahmed, Adjei, Rehman, Tandon, Ratambwa, Cameron, Hussain, Wright, Siddik, Vaughan. Subs: Rivera, Samad, Bernard, Choudhury, Garcia, Muquith, M Ahmed.

Clapton: Diagne, Joseph, Jaffa, Lyndon, Williams, Morris, Mobray, Hewitt, Nyanja, Cook, Ashman. Subs: Cookey, Lemba, Haighton, Webb, Taylor-Reid, Gomez Formoso, Blake.