Of course its a game of football and nothing like life and death, but when you invest pounds and hours in watching a team, it is impossible not to go away with a feeling of either euphoria or disappointment at the end of a game.

This was always going to be a tall order for the Cuckoos. Convincingly beaten by Sleaford in their last two encounters and with their three latest signings all cup tied, Yaxley were down to the bare bones.

But the same game management process that had seen London Colney come unstuck in the previous round was in evidence again and despite the roaring wind, the home side made sure that as the game entered the latter stages they were still in it.

After rattling the cross bar though Dan Cotton before Jon Stead shoveled over from close in it looked like stalemate would be the order of the day. However the best bit of football of the match saw the Cuckoos in and Stead made amends getting the ball over the line from almost the same spot of his earlier miss.

We had something to hold on to and suddenly those in blue scarves were checking their watches.

There hadn't been a challenge of note in the game and the referee had been doing ok, despite massive pressure from the visiting bench to book every Yaxley player who made a tackle.

However substitute Wayne Morris gave him a decision to make when going to ground for a second time. A second yellow was brandished and the final minutes were going to be tough.

That feeling eased slightly after Matt Gearing was smashed to the ground on the edge of the D. Play was rightly allowed to carry on and Dan Cotton had a shot saved.

As the ball spiraled away it caught the wind and despite not leaving the pitch, a visiting defended patted it down with his hand.
It was a clear spot kick. Definite and another really decent bit of refereeing.

Up stepped Cotton but he found his kick brilliantly saved before the rebound was bundled away.

Like the Robert Hughes miss at Erith last season, it seemed to galvanise the opposition and stun the Cuckoos.

It was at this point the decent refereeing seemed to expire. We played on an inordinate amount of time added on and just as it looked like we might just hang on with the ten men, a bundled equaliser took us to extra time.

In truth there was only going to be one team winning it in extra time, but to their credit, the Cuckoos never caved and despite a farcical fourth goal Sam Spencer and Dan Cotton reduced the arrears to at least make it respectable.

As the final whistle went I found myself looking at a celebrating group of fans and players thinking it should have been us. As a football fan of this club or any other, that is the most galling feeling you can have. The supporters drifted away into the drizzly evening left to wonder about what might have been if the official had given Wayne a final warning instead of sending his straight off. Or if he had made the challenge away from their dug out so there was less chance of them jumping up and making sure the referee made the decision.

Dan Cotton took to Twitter to comment on the miss and how it affected the result. He takes no criticism from this supporter though. He ran his socks off whilst clearly in pain from pulling up mid way through the second half. I felt bad for him.

So that's the Vase done for another season. It was always going to be difficult to match or exceed last seasons efforts and I wish Sleaford Town all the best.

Normal match report service will be resumed next week... Promise !