October 28, 2006, will go down in history as the day Leatherhead finally laid the ghost of the 70s and began a new chapter in the club's history.

With a 16-match unbeaten record, representation in all the cup competitions and a strong and talented squad, the Tanners scrapped hard to win against yet another team from one level higher.

This was the 9th match the Tanners had played and with £10,000 at stake and, more importantly a place in the First Round draw, was the club's most important game for some 26 years.

Sudbury had won late on at Kingstonian in the FA Carling Trophy earlier in the week and were never going to be easy to beat but Dave Harlow had seen some areas where he felt they could be exploited.

In truth, with so much at stake, it was always going to be a nervy, edgy affair but one where the Mole Valley side always felt they could cause yet another upset.

Sudbury had the best of the opening exchanges and the Tanners were restricted to few chances - including a shot from Jamie Beer that flew high over the bar.

The home side had seen a header from Andy Claydon drift just wide in response.

With the travelling Tanners under pressure, Adam Gray's lunge on Darren Bethell earned him a yellow card and the home striker, some lengthy treatment.

With Sudbury taking a measure of control, they took the lead just half an hour into the match. a move between Terry Rayner, the recovered Darren Bethell, saw the ball returned to Smith. The midfielder hit a fierce shot that Leatherhead keeper, Paul Borg touched with his fingers but could not deflect the ball enough to prevent it netting to give the home side the lead.

Almost immediately from the kick off, the Tanners forced their way into the home area and midfielder put in a rasping shot from close range that completely evaded Nathan Munsonin the Sudbury goal.

Very soon after that, Marc Charles-Smith could have given Leatherhead the lead but the effort was nullified by some effective home side defending.

Leatherhead are now a much stronger second half side.

Despite the excellent Borg turning a Neil Calver shot for a corner, the Tanners came out after the break with much greater purpose.

Gavin Bolger now firmly established in the Tanners midfield caused the home defence severe problems and it was only some astute defending that prevented some real threat to Nathan Munson's goal.

The whole tempo of the game changed on the hour a brutal lunge on Charles-Smith saw home defender Shane Wardley red carded and the young Leatherhead striker with severe stud marks down his leg and still having attention from physio, John Steerwood, well after the final whistle had blown.

Being reduced to ten men stirred the Suffolk side and they came forward with more purpose.

Borg, again was called upon to save smartly from Neil Calver.

Leatherhead were working hard to make the extra man count and it was some stubborn and last ditch defending that kept them out.

When they did attack, they looked dangerous and the home fans felt highly aggrieved when James Hayden was adjudged to be offside when he was first to an Andy Claydon's shot that came back off the upright It was two minutes into injury time when the Tanners wrapped the game up with a typical Dave Stevens goal.

The Leatherhead skipper had one of his quieter games but ids deadly when given space inside the opposition box.

He nade no mistake and the tie belonged to the Tanners.

This was a result that many of the supporters and players had waited generations for.

Stevens euphoria was hardly dampened when he was booked for the exuberance of his celebration and when the whistle went, it was a cue for the 200 travelling fans to join in the festivities which carried on long after Torquay were pulled out of the hat as their opponents in the first round proper.

In truth, the opponents did not matter. The ghosts of 1975 and 1980 (the last time the Tanners made the first round) were well and truly buried and Dave Harlow's team had begun a new page in the second volume of the Leatherhead history. This was an historic day!

Tanners: Borg, Beer, Gray, Doherty, Duncan, Hendry, Bolger, Holes (Bennetts), Sargent, Charles-Smith (Thompson), Stevens.