Croydon Athletic stormed through to the semi-finals of the London Senior Cup with a narrow win on penalties at Champion Hill against Fisher FC.

With the match 1-1 after normal time and extra time, the Rams won through 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out and will now face AFC Wimbledon in the semi final.

With the Rams fielding a number of changes from their league match on Monday evening, they took a while to get into their stride in this game and indeed Fisher also looked hesitant and neither side had a clear cut shot on target for most of the first half.

In the 23rd minute, Taurean McDonald-Roberts had a good strike but Adam Lisney in the Fisher goal managed to get a hand to it and knock it onto the post.

McDonald-Roberts had another chance later in the half which again was thwarted by the keeper.

Nathan Green, returning from a loan period at Chipstead, looked strong in defence for Croydon, with Joe Howe and Jacob Erskine acting as centre halves.

Rather against the run of play, Fisher pushed forward in the 35th minute and Cedric Abraham hit a fine ball over Mark Fox in the Croydon goal to put the home side one up.

In the second half, the Rams seemed to take control of the match but despite several noteworthy attempts, including a goalmouth scramble that saw three shots cleared off the line, they were unable to get the ball in the back of the net.

Substitutes Rob Depeazer and Jamie Beveridge made notable input when they were brought into play which would have done no harm to the youth players’ attempts to break into the first team on a regular basis.

In the 77th minute, Danny Waldren had a mean free kick that was goalbound but kept out by a diving save by Lisney again.

The Rams persistence finally paid off however when Gary Noel launched a shot from 25 yards in the 80th minute to bring the scores level.

Extra time commenced with a renewed vigour in the Croydon side, determined to get to the semi-final stage, with Noel shooting just wide and Moses Odubajo rifling the ball over the bar just two of many efforts by the Rams.

With no side getting the all-important goal, penalties commenced with Fisher striking the first, and the first on the spot for the Rams was Gary Noel who made no mistake in striking his shot home.

With Fisher netting their second, it was Danny Waldren to calmly make it two all.

Fisher’s third strike was a little weak and Fox in goal managed to keep it out, giving the Rams the advantage, which they quickly reinforced with Jacob Erskine getting his first for the club and the Rams' third penalty.

Fisher managed to score with their fourth and Marco Bianchi put the Rams 4-3 in front with his kick.

It was not to be too easy for Croydon though, with Joe Howe’s strike saved by the Fisher keeper after the home side had struck their kick home.

With penalties level at 4-4 Fisher could not manage to score with their fifth strike and it was up to Nathan Green to step up and net the winning goal and cause celebrations all round.

A nerve-wracking night for the Rams’ fans but worth it in the end to see the delight of the players at getting through to the semi-final against AFC Wimbledon on 15th April.

Croydon Athletic: Mark Fox, Marco Bianchi, Nathan Green, Matthew Man (Jamie Beveridge, 76), Joe Howe, Jacob Erskine, Moses Odubajo, Danny Waldren, Antoine Vitalis (Rob Depeazer, 50), Gary Noel, Taurean McDonald-Roberts. Subs not used: Steve Thomas, Ricardo Spencer, Zak Henry.