MALVERN Town recorded a memorable upset in the third-round of the Buildbase FA Vase after a dramatic 6-5 penalty shootout win over higher-league opposition Sporting Khalsa.

The Hillsiders, cheered on by a sell-out crowd at the HDanywhere Community Stadium, progress through to the fourth round after a the game finished 5-5 in 90 minutes.

Town's Harry Clark scored a hat-trick on the night and despite throwing leading 4-1 and 5-4 in the second-half, they twice surrendered their lead before the dreaded shootout.

But Town held their nerve, with Keiron Blackburn saving the crucial penalty before Adam Sauntson slotted home to spark the celebrations.

Khalsa play a level above Malvern in the Midlands Football Premier Division (step 5) and they took the lead early on after a deflected strike beat keeper Blackburn.

The equaliser came on 17 minutes when a free-kick from the left was delivered sweetly onto the head of Jay Sauntson whose effort went in off the post.

With their tails up, Malvern went in front on 22 minutes when Harry Clark broke out wide on the left before tucking the ball into the far corner of the net.

On 37 minutes Town extended the lead when Clark was played through and he stayed cool to slot past the advancing ‘keeper.

Malvern started the second-half with purpose and it wasn’t long before Bates made it four.

Then the game turned as Khalsa flexed their muscles and a header from Robinson reduced the arrears before Town were awarded a penalty that Turner could not convert.

Two goals in a minute, from Jake Gosling who rounded Blackburn, and then a scrambled effort in front of goal brought it back to 4-4.

The Hillsiders refused to back-down as the game became frantic. Clark was on hand to poke home and put Town back ahead as the game entered stoppage time but Khalsa then equalised deep into added time despite Blackburn’s brave attempts to keep it out to make it 5-5.

The tie went to penalties which the home side eventually won 6-5 with Blackburn saving a crucial spot-kick before Adam Sauntson stayed calm to grab the sudden death winner.

Co-manager, Dene Whittal-Williams, gathered his composure to give his assessment on the dramatic win.

“It was a roller-coaster of emotions,” he said.

“It was really challenging but I am proud of the lads for the performance they put in, especially in the first half when they nailed our game plan.

“To come through that and then win on penalties was immense, it was a fantastic day for everyone associated with the club and I could not be more proud.

“There was no pressure on us going into the game being the underdogs; we prepared well and went into it with confidence in our own ability.

“We knew that the lads would give it a real go, but going in at the break 3-1 to the good turned the pressure on us and we allowed our opponents to get back into it.

“But it was a fantastic event and the atmosphere was superb throughout.

"We just want to keep enjoying it and progressing in this competition, we’ve got an amazing squad with everyone supporting each other and this togetherness is so special and stands us in good stead for whatever challenge we come up against.

“These are exciting times as we look ahead to what 2021 holds in store and there will be ups and downs along the way but we’ll roll with it and just enjoy the journey so that we can achieve our objectives.”