TWO goals in extra-time saw Tividale’s FA Vase dreams ended by ten man Peterborough Northern Star.

Karl Gibbs’ header and a penalty from Adi Stefeieri won the game for Star, who played most of the game a man down after skipper Jimmy Dean was shown red in just the 19th minute.

Gibbs had a shot cleared off the line by Derek Cole in the first half, while both he and substitute Aveliono Vieirra wasted chances to win the game in normal time.

Despite the man advantage Tivi struggled to break down a stubborn visiting defence, with Matt Jukes and Kyle Hill seeing the efforts saved by visiting keeper Liam McShane.

When Dean launched into the rash challenge on Brett Clarke which earned him a second yellow from referee Guy Stretton, Tividale would have fancied their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals.

But in the end it was Peterborough who picked up a deserved victory with a gutsy, committed display. Had Gibbs and Vieirra shown a little more composure in front of goal, we may not have needed the extra 39 minutes played by Stretton, who is clearly not an official afraid to be liberal in his stoppage time.

Neither side was helped by a horrendous surface, not least Tividale who saw numerous attacks break down by passes which held up in the mud. The hosts battled hard and had some chances but at no stage of the game did they look dominant against a strong Star outfit.

It was the visitors who made the brighter start and Johnny Stead shot on target but weakly at Beech in the opening minutes.

In hindsight Tividale’s first shooting chance turned out to be one of their best but Jason Chilton’s effort lacked the power and direction to seriously trouble McShane.

Both sides seemed fully committed and several tasty challenges were made in the opening ten minutes, with Dean the only man to see yellow.

Gibbs then went close to breaking the deadlock. Cole allowed a through ball from Nathan Horne to run into the box, allowing Gibbs to nip in and round Beech, only for the Tivi defender to rectify his mistake and clear the subsequent effort off the line.

The outlook of the game then changed dramatically, as Dean lunged in once more –this time on Clarke - and was shown a second yellow. There could be no complaints about the decision and indeed some referees would perhaps have shown a straight red, such was recklessness of the challenge.

Tivi looked to take advantage and Jukes shot over following a scramble in the box. But Star were always looking dangerous and Stefeieri shot wide after a free-kick fell kindly to him, while Gibbs headed back across an open goal after Beech misjudged a Liam Hook cross.

The home keeper was also on shaky ground at the start of the second half as a miscommunication with Joel Kettle allowed Gibbs to shoot from distance at an open goal, Beech recovering to tip the effort round the post.

Tivi kept probing without success before Adam Hill suddenly set up Jukes for a clear run on goal. The striker’s shot had plenty of power but McShane was equal to it, tipping the ball over the bar. From the corner, the ball fell to Kyle Hill who tried to stab home from short range but also found himself denied by the keeper.

Gibbs sent a free header from a corner straight into the arms of Beech, who was also forced to tip over from the striker.

As the game entered the final ten minutes, Tividale continued to have the best of possession but the best chances were falling to the visitors on the counter-attack.

Gibbs once again should have converted Stefeirei’s cross at the far post but failed to make a decent connection. In stoppage time, Vierria raced away only to shoot almost straight at Beech from ten yards out.

Star defender Mark Cox embarked on a solo run but shot well over as the extra period got underway.

In the 98th minutes, Gibbs finally broke the deadlock, flinging himself at Stefeirei’s cross and sending his header past a helpless Beech.

Tivi looked for a way back and enjoyed one of the best spells of the game. Substitute John Freeman fired over following a scramble in the box. Adam Hill then had McShane at full stretch with a powerful drive from 18 yards out, while Karl Edwards snapshot went straight at the keeper.

Tempers flared in the closing stages, as both Clarke and Star’s Matthew Cook were booked for a fracas.

Tivi were pushing more and more men up front and this left plenty of room for Star to counter as referee Stretton appeared to lose track of time.

Stefeirei saw an effort brilliantly saved by Beech from Vierria’s pull back. The Tivi keeper then tipped a Stefeirei effort round the post after the striker had raced clean through from the halfway line.

With most of the crowd and players expecting the final whistle, Star broke again and Stefeirei finally got his goal. After being bundled over by Paskin, he stepped up to fire past Beech from the spot and seal the game in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

TIVIDALE: Beech, Kettle (Freeman 70), Paskin (c), Parsons, Cole, Hill A, Hill K (Taylor 79), Wattley, Clarke, Jukes (Edwards 65), Chilton Subs not used: Turton, Stevens.

STAR: McShane, Cook, Horne, Dean (c), Cox, Morris, Nyang (Medwyner 94), Hook, Gibbs (Raynor 111), Stefeieri, Stead (Vierria 75) Sub not used: Glover.

Goals: Gibbs 98, Stefeirei 120+5.