Rovers battle past Celtic to reach last-16 of the cup

The first half an hour produced very little goalmouth action of note until a quick one-two between Rovers’ Conor Deadman and Kevin Pnrice saw the former drive the ball into the Celtic net from 10 yards out for a hard-fought 1-0 half-time lead.

Rovers doubled their lead after the interval when full-back Jamal Babb went on a surging run down the left flank, beating four players with skill and pace before rolling the ball into the path of Ben Hammond who fired into the bottom corner.

Rovers were looking comfortable until Celtic grabbed a goal back and then quickly equalised after a defensive lapse from the Hemel side.

There were few chances for the remainder of the 90 minutes, but the introduction in extra-time of Rhys Stonebank added pace to the Rovers front-line.

He retrieved a loose ball and laid it back to Deadman who rifled home at the second attempt after his initial shot was blocked on the line by a defender.

Minutes into the second half of extra-time, Celtic scrambled a leveller to make it 3-3, but their joy was short-lived as a defensive mix-up allowed Scott Porter to wrap up the win for Rovers.

Elsewhere, Rovers Reserves beat Oxhey 6-3 with goals from Ray Wood (2), Jamie Evans, Mark Crampton, Mylie Cash and an own goal.