Aylesbury progressed in the FA Cup with a fifth straight victory, but they had to do things the hard way and come from behind twice before eventually winning by three goals to two.
It was very much a tale of two halves as in the first the Ducks were largely outplayed by their Essex Senior League visitors, but in the second United were much improved and a sending off only helped swing the game further in their favour.
Aylesbury were never allowed to settle in a first period which saw Manor do an excellent job of hassling them in possession, and the flowing football which had been evident in recent matches had been replaced with horribly rushed play. Instead it was the visitors who played some good stuff and proved themselves a very capable outfit.
So it came as something of a surprise that Aylesbury managed to claw themselves level with a textbook free-kick header from Lea Coulter who got on the end of Carl Clay?s delivery from the right touchline.
The game should really have been put to bed by the blues well before then though. It didn?t bode well when the lively Danny Clarke got away from the defence after just 29 seconds but his shot from a difficult angle was easily claimed by Sillitoe.
On five minutes Clarke again got in behind the backline and this time O?Grady was rather lucky to not have been spotted for an apparent tug back as the last man.
The opener came midway through the half when one ball forward caught O?Grady ball watching, Richard Priest taking full advantage in getting goal side of him and from there was only one outcome as he calmly slotted past Sillitoe. 1-0 Eton Manor
The score could so easily have been doubled ten minutes later when Clarke nutmegged Mullholland in the box, but put the ball wide having elected to shoot rather than square for the team-mates screaming at him.
Aylesbury continued to labour their way through the game, barely able to string two passes together, until the final five minutes of the half when they suddenly came to life.
Garcia and Gordon linked up well together before the former fizzed a shot wide of the target, then a quick throw-in saw Coulter try and ambitious 35-yard effort which only just went over the bar, before Coulter it was who brought his side level in stoppage time. 1-1
Half-time: Aylesbury 1-1 Eton Manor
The Ducks made the tactical switch of dropping Lea Coulter into defence for the second half instead of Craig Townsend, and although in the longer term it proved successful, an early defensive horror-show allowed Eton Manor to quickly re-establish their lead.
Both Smith and Townsend were unable to get the ball clear and although Michael Marin?s initial shot was blocked, he collected the rebound and bent a lovely effort around Sillitoe into the bottom left corner. 2-1 Eton Manor
The match then entered something of a lull as Aylesbury looked to regroup, but as things continued it became apparent that the visitors were seemingly content to sit back on their lead.
As time progressed further Manor were dropping ever deeper and in the end it was to lead to their downfall as they simply invited pressure on to them, and the Ducks were subsequently happy to oblige as little by little they stepped up their game.
On the hour mark a good move saw the ball swept forward to Edgeworth who quickly released Gordon, but when faced with Paul Daley in the one-on-one he didn?t have the conviction to beat the keeper who stood up to make the save.
It mattered little though when, just a minute later, Gordon did hit the target. Smith?s throw in found Coulter who, for once, wasn?t closed down and had time to pick a perfect pass which dissected the visiting defence, leaving Gordon unattended from 10-yards and he couldn?t miss, to finally score his first goal for the club and level the match for the second time. 2-2
Eton Manor?s woes were compounded when defender Craig Willoughby was shown a second yellow card for dissent (his first card also for dissent after the half-time whistle) in the 68th minute and Manor were reduced to ten men.
This only helped tip the balance even more in favour of United, and Townsend nearly gave them the lead for the first time but his shot was charged down in the area, before Edgeworth showed some great skill to turn and shoot but could only fire straight at Daley.
Aylesbury did find a way through in the 76th minute. Ben Baines it was who got the goal, having been largely anonymous for much of the game, when he showed a fantastic piece of close control to trap a poor defensive header before firing a shot across the keeper and into the net. 3-2 Aylesbury
In the lead for the first time, United still had 15 minutes to protect it, with the visitors refusing to roll over. The defence managed to deal with everything Manor had to throw at them though, and when needed, Sillitoe was there to call upon. He made a great save five minutes from time to tip wide Marin?s goalbound free-kick and then showed good handling under immense pressure to claim a chipped free-kick from wide minutes later.
With Manor committing most of their team upfield it was inevitable that Aylesbury would have room to exploit on the break, and Edgeworth?s curling effort had to be tipped wide by Daley. From the resulting corner Mullholland?s header sailed over the bar.
Full time finally sounded on a match that once again required Aylesbury to draw on all their character to get the job done. Eton Manor proved a tough test ? one of the best sides United have faced so far this season. In the end though they were just as culpable in their own downfall as their inability to either keep their mouths closed coupled or defend their lead helped the Ducks on their way.
United will now face Brentwood Town in the next round.
