LEE PELTIER and Gary Roberts rode to the rescue as Town avoided the embarrassment of FA Cup elimination at the hands of non-League opposition with a late goal rush.
Rory McAuley’s 53rd-minute header had game Conference side Cambridge scenting a big scalp in this first-round replay at the Galpharm.
But Town’s late burst of pressure finally paid off as Lee Peltier levelled with his first goal for the club in the 90th minute before Gary Roberts lashed home the winner three minutes and 50 seconds into stoppage time.
Peltier’s strike, driven home low through a ruck of players after Roberts’ corner was cleared, came as a major relief.
And Roberts’ winner, thumped in from Scott Arfield’s pass after slick approach work from Damien Johnson and Peltier, had the home fans celebrating a win which five minutes earlier, had seemed implausible.
The inclusion of Roberts and Arfield were among three changes to the side on duty at Oldham Saturday.
Roberts was handed a first start in 12 matches after proving his recovery from a broken arm by making two appearances from the bench.
He replaced hamstring injury victim Anthony Pilkington.
And Arfield came in for Joey Gudjonsson in midfield while Alan Lee replaced Jordan Rhodes up front.
It was the big Irishman’s first start in five after a three-match suspension kept him out of the goalless first meeting at the Abbey Stadium.
Cambridge, the first non-league team to visit the Galpharm since Welling in 2005, brought back captain Paul Carden after he passed a fitness test on a hamstring problem.
Town were soon on the attack, with Peltier firing a free-kick just over after a foul by Dave Partridge on Lee 20 yards out.
Then Graham Carey’s well-struck shot brought a good save from Danny Naisbitt, with Lee’s goalbound shot from the rebound blocked by right-back James Jennings.
Cambridge were employing the same 4-5-1 system which shut Town out in the original tie, but that didn’t stop them venturing forward to give Lee Clark’s side three scares between the 13th and 23rd minute.
First striker Danny Wright put Wayne Gray’s cross too high before Town keeper Ian Bennett escaped with a yellow rather than red card after coming out of his area and fouling Robbie Willmott as he broke free.
The busy Willmott then floated in a deep free-kick which centre-back Partridge glanced just wide.
Roberts responded with a low shot which Naisbitt saved, but Town fans were still growing restless, and their mood was hardly improved when Liam Ridehalgh’s miscued clearance from a Jennings cross had Bennett scrambling to prevent an own goal.
Lee had a 33rd-minute shot and 43rd-minute header saved by Naisbitt, but in between, Bennett did well to block with his legs as Simon Russell put in a low drive from Wright’s flick-on.
Cambridge were playing towards their own fans in the second half and the vociferous travelling contingent were on their feet just two minutes in as Willmott flashed a speculative long ranger across the face of goal.
Five minutes later they were celebrating with the Cambridge players after McAuley struck.
Bennett palmed away an awkward Kevin Roberts cross at the expense of a corner and when Jennings swung the ball in, the midfielder emerged to head home from the edge of the six-yard box, earning a caution from Lancashire referee Graham Salisbury after leaving the pitch to celebrate.
Town boss Clark made a double substitution on 55 minutes, with Jamie McCombe replacing centre-back Antony Kay, who had just been cautioned for a foul on Wright, and Lee making way for Jordan Rhodes, who was soon in the action, testing Naisbitt with a curling right-foot shot from the edge of the penalty box.
Town’s at last began to mount some concerted pressure, and Arfield’s stinging 65th-minute shot was headed off the line by defender Roberts before McCombe’s header was hacked to safety.
Then home ace Roberts’ trickery set up a 70th-minute opportunity for Benik Afobe, whose accurate strike was well saved by Naisbitt.
By now Town had Gudjonsson on for Carey, who had taken a knock when fouled by Gray.
And the Icelander flashed in a drive which flew across the area with nobody able to get a touch, while Rhodes, having been set up by Roberts, could only look on in frustration as his 80th-minute effort hit Naisbitt’s legs and rebounded to safety.
Cambridge were scenting a big scalp, and on a rare attack, Willmott came close to a clincher when he cut in from the left and let fly with a shot which was only a yard wide.
But the visitors’ dreams of making round two were to be dashed in dramatic fashion.
