Ten-man Cirencester rallied back from 1-0 down to beat Paulton Rovers 5-4 on penalties and reach the next round of The Buildbase FA Trophy, writes Dave Pyzer.

Spectators at The Corinium Stadium witnessed an eventful cup tie which included a red card, two first half penalties, a spectacular equaliser and a penalty shoot-out.

The home side conceded a penalty kick in the 5th minute that keeper Alex Harris saved, and with a strong wind behind them Cirencester struggled to find the weight of pass that would enable them to test the Paulton defence despite plenty of possession.

Ten minutes before half time, Harris was dismissed following an incident with Daniel Cottle and a second penalty was awarded.

To accommodate the dismissal of their keeper, Cirencester withdrew Jonny Dennis and brought on centre back Josh Nelmes who donned the gloves.

Nelmes saved the penalty but Cottle followed up to smash the rebound into the net.

With the man advantage Paulton pressed forward after the break and Cirencester defended resolutely and were rewarded when Brad Gray unleashed a fierce strike from 30 yards that flew into the net via the left post.

This signalled a rally as the home side pressed for a winner and finally a penalty shoot-out.

After 10 penalties it was 4-4, Cirencester scored their next and Paulton’s was saved but the referee ordered a re-take – Nelmes saved again and Cirencester were through.

The win follows a disappointing FA Cup defeat in mid-week, which saw Town defeated 3-1 at Cornish side Saltash United.