MANAGER Carl Heeley reckons the replay victory over Leamington harked back to some of the great FA Cup nights Worcester City enjoyed at St George’s Lane.

There were many memorable moments in the cup at City’s famous old home, not least the replay triumph against Accrington Stanley in 2005, the last time they reached the first round proper.

Heeley, who made more than 500 appearances for the club as a player, has also experienced the thrills of cup wins under floodlights, including a fourth qualifying round victory over Belper Town in 2001.

Goals from captain Ellis Deeney and Danny Jackman gave City a 2-0 third qualifying round win against the Brakes last night and Heeley says the match is another for the collection.

“I’ve been fortunate at Worcester City to have had some great moments, particularly at St George’s Lane, but this was up there with the atmosphere and the anxiety,” he said.

“The game had everything. I do sympathise with Leamington because they’ll know they’ve missed a big opportunity but it was Worcester’s night and we’re thoroughly delighted with it.”

The Blue and Whites’ boss, whose side will face Greenwich Borough on Sunday, October 26, continued: “When the draw was made we knew we had a tough tie against Leamington.

“We went there on Saturday and were a bit frustrated that we didn’t win the game after all of our dominance.

“We needed to make sure we didn’t make the same mistake twice. We had 18 men represent us, including the lads on the bench, and that spirit and togetherness got us home.

“Now we can focus on the next round, which has been kind to us with another home draw and we can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Deeney struck after four minutes at Aggborough before Jackman headed his first goal for the club two minutes into the second-half.

Heeley said: “Ellis’ goal settled us down and it looked like we were going to run away with it, but credit to Leamington, they kept coming back at us and they had their best spell just before half-time.

“We got sucked into what they wanted us to do – they pressured us high up the pitch and we started going for the long ball which is not our strength.

“We got ourselves off to a great start in the second-half with an unlikely scorer in Danny rising at the near post to flick one home – I think it’s his first ever header.

“That pretty much put the game to bed but as it went on they kept coming back at us and we kept breaking on them.

“We’ve kept another clean sheet, we’ve won the game and we’re delighted with that.”