Wealdstone are in today’s draw for the third qualifying round of the FA Cup after a stuttering start to this year’s competition saw them overcome a stubborn Great Wakering Rovers 2-0 at The Vale on Saturday.

In an awkward first half played out in driving rain, Bobby Wilkinson’s men found it frustratingly hard to break down a Rovers side which defended in numbers and continually caught the home side’s forwards offside.

Both teams still had opportunities to take the lead, but sloppy play and poor final balls meant that several good chances went begging.

Indeed Stones could have taken the lead within a minute of the first whistle through Wadah Ahmidi but the visitors weathered a difficult patch when under pressure and almost grabbed a goal on the counter when Brandy Mokeni broke free and drew a fine save from Jonathan North on 23 minutes. And that was after Wakering had struck the upright after some wayward defending from the home side had provided a sharp wake-up call.

But five minutes later Stones were awarded a clear spot-kick when Bradley Bubb was bundled over by Keeper Coey Turipa. Typical of the poor finishing of the half, Stefan Brown’s penalty was comfortably saved.

Worryingly for Wealdstone, Bubb went down injured just after the half-an-hour mark and hobbled off, replaced by Jeffrey Monakana.

The second half saw far more determination and attacking threat from Wealdstone as they pressed forward with more conviction, penning Rovers back in their own half.

The visitors attempted to slow the pace down with time-wasting tactics to hang on to a draw but as they came under increasing pressure more and more space started to open up for the home side.

Stones finally made the breakthrough on 66 minutes with a smart piece of finishing from Fumnaya Shomotun with a strike from just outside the area and there seemed to be no way back for Rovers from that point on.

Wealdstone then created chance after chance and wrapped the tie up with 10 minutes left on the clock when Connor Stevens headed powerfully home from a corner.

The ball was kicked out of the goal by a defender but the assistant referee had no hesitation in flagging that it had crossed the line.

Despite almost total possession and numerous late chances, Stones couldn’t make the score line more emphatic.

Wealdstone: North, Tyler, Grant, Stevens, Okimo, Poku, Lench, Ahmidi, Brown, Bubb, Shomotun. Subs used: Monakana, Sheppard. Not used: Wilson, Mambo, Hudson-Odoi, Thomas.