AFC Wimbledon claimed the final spot in the Emirates FA Cup second round with a dramatic penalty-shootout win at League Two Barrow, after it finished goalless at the end of extra time at Holker Street.
Dimitri Sea hit the bar for Barrow in the first half after Wimbledon had started the brighter of the two teams, and Jayden Reid also had chances to score for the Bluebirds.
Wimbledon looked favourites to score in extra time through Joe Pigott and Jack Rudoni, but having eventually prevailed on spot-kicks Glyn Hodges’ charges will now prepare to host Crawley Town in Round 2 on Sunday.
The visitors burst out of the blocks and had two great chances to go ahead in the match’s opening moments, Ollie Palmer shooting wide before skipper Will Nightingale followed up Ethan Chislett’s deflected effort by heading over.
Barrow responded with a string of half-chances as they looked to gain a foothold in the game, with Josh Kay shooting tamely from the edge of the box and Yoan Zouma heading off target from a free-kick out wide.
It's finished on a disappointing note here as The Bluebirds bow out of the #EmiratesFACup on penalties.
— Barrow AFC (@BarrowAFC) November 26, 2020
Congratulations to @AFCWimbledon and good luck in the next round.#BarrowAFC pic.twitter.com/sVYLm3pmSQ
Sea went close for David Dunn’s men in the 20th minute with a fizzing effort from 20 yards that flew just past the post, and 18 minutes later the Frenchman crashed the woodwork with another shot from similar range.
Having finished the first half on the back foot, Wimbledon were improved after the break and Sam Hird had to be on guard to get in the way of Chislett’s drive on the hour mark.
Seconds later Chislett had another go but shot over the bar, and Dons continued to enjoy the greater share of possession without causing home goalkeeper Josh Lillis too many real problems.
But Barrow continued to battle and were unfortunate not to go ahead with 12 minutes left on the clock, visiting stopper Nik Tzanev collecting Reid’s strike at the second attempt to keep the scores level.
The home side saw late shouts for a penalty waved away after Dior Angus was felled in the box at the death, and Wimbledon held on under pressure to take the match into extra time.
Pigott and Rudoni both tried their luck as Wimbledon did their best to end the match before penalties, but the deadlock remained unbroken all the way until the end of the 120 minutes.
Angus missed Barrow’s first spot-kick to give the Dons an early advantage, and after Ryan Longman had made it 1-0 Scott Quigley blazed over to put the visitors on the cusp of victory.
And indeed Shane McLoughlin, Steve Seddon and Rudoni converted to add to Longman’s score, securing a 4-2 shootout win for the third-tier team.
