A Mark Wilkinson hat-trick helped Amateur League side Nortel come from two goals down to defeat Championship 2 opponents Banbridge Town in the Intermediate Cup Third Round 'tie of the round' at Monkstown.
The pitch was soft and played a big part in both teams not being able to play their normal quality of football.
From the start both teams looked for a quick goal. Nortel seemed to settle first but, somewhat against the run of play, the visitors took a sixth minute lead when Conor Downey side-footed the ball across the front of the goal and watched as it crawled over the line.
Ten minutes after that Ryan Gourley broke through the Nortel defence only to see his point blank shot saved by 'keeper Kris Malone.
However, the Championship 2 side did extend their advantage four minutes later after Adam Pedlow netted from inside the six yard box.
The Nortel comeback started on 28 minutes when 'man of the match' Wilkinson levelled from an acute angle.
Then, seven minutes from the break, he got his second when he turned home the rebound after 'keeper Stephen Croft could only push out Timmy Clarke's initial attempt.
With the pitch cutting up badly Wilkinson completed his hat-trick 20 minutes into the second half after going one-on-one with Croft.
As the game wore to a close both sets of players battled hard but with the heavy pitch taking an increasing on their energy levels there was little Banbridge could do to deny Nortel their place in the draw for the next round.
