THRILLED boss Carl Poore revealed that Verwood Town had secured FA Vase glory by inadvertently laying Plymouth Parkway a false trail.
Verwood equalled their best performance in the competition by reaching the third round thanks to a remarkable 5-4 win over the South West Peninsula high-fliers at Potterne Park.
And Poore admitted that a 5-1 defeat to Winchester the previous weekend had – in a backwards manner – paved Verwood’s path to the last 64 and a £1,200 prize pot.
He told the Daily Echo: “Their manager Wayne Hillson said afterwards that they had underestimated us, which I suppose is a compliment in a way!
“They had us watched last week when we lost heavily to Winchester and that was probably a good time to get watched.
“We always knew it was going to be a tough game because they are playing in a false league – they had the chance to go up last season but rejected it having won three trophies.
“They also had a couple of lads that had played Conference South football in Shane Krac and Ben Joyce. In the end my lads pulled through due to their determination.”
In a topsy-turvy encounter, Dan Munday gave the hosts the lead from close range after just eight minutes.
The advantage was doubled when Carl Foster knocked home Tom Whelan’s free-kick but Parkway pulled one back before the break and then levelled soon after the resumption.
Midway through the second half, a rampant Verwood scored three times in around 90 seconds to seemingly put the game out of reach.
First a Whelan free-kick found its way into the net after the keeper fumbled and then Whelan grabbed his second with a superb solo run and finish.
As Parkway threw men forward, Jordan Fisk beat the offside trap and sent the ball into the top corner to make it 5-2.
The visitors ensured a nerve-jangling finale when they struck twice but Verwood held on.
Poore continued: “They had had a long journey and our task was to get at them early, and we did.
“We stepped off the gas which let them back in the game but I can’t fault the lads’ effort, commitment and attitude in going from 2-2 to 5-2.
“Their keeper made an error for the third goal and I think that deflated them. At 2-2 there was only one team winning it and that was them.
“But that error gave us a lifeline. It gave us some get-up-and-go and the fourth goal by Tom was absolutely superb.
“It’s been the case with us all season that we seem to get a lead and then chuck it away.
“But the lads dug in deep and we handled everything they threw at us.”
The third-round draw takes place at lunchtime today and Verwood are just one win away from the last 32 – when the competition goes national.
Potters: Lynch, Evans, Buck, Gajic, Kelly, Dyer (Satterley, 89), Foster (Rutten, 60), Whelan, Fisk (Murray, 85), Groves, Munday. Unused subs: Anderton, Collins (g/k).
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