Playing up the Earlsmead hill in the first half, the young AFC Wimbledon players, supported by first-teamers Elliott Godfrey, Ricky Wellard, Seb Brown and captain for the night Kennedy Adjei, really took the game to their hosts and pinned them back around the penalty box for long periods.

The first chance fell to Godfrey, who in the second minute cracked in a shot from just outside the penalty box. When keeper Keita Karamoko did well to hold the ball and then cleared upfield with a huge kick, it set the tone for a game that was memorable for the pace at which it was played.

The Harrow Borough team, made up mainly of reserves, were a fine match for their Dons counterparts. They came into this tie top of the Capital League, in which they’d lost just once, and having an excellent season under the managership of Stuart Crawford - and not for the first time, either. It probably explains why Albert Adomah did so well at Harrow before moving up to a higher level.

AFC Wimbledon won the first of many in corners in the 11th minute. The ball was well held by the keeper after a shot by James Hennessy, but the near post was not defended very well, - and later in the game that would prove be the home team’s downfall. This was soon followed by a cracking shot from Captain Kennedy from all of 30 yards, which the keeper did well to smother.

Two minutes later, Harrow’s Warren Whitely was bearing down on goal, one on one against Brown, and it seemed likely that, much against the run of play, the home side would take the lead - but the keeper did well to stand his ground and save at the feet of the onrushing striker. The sparse 110 crowd were being treated to some superb entertainment as the ball pinged from one end of the ground to other, AFC Wimbledon playing a passing game, and Harrow adopting a more direct style and using the slope to good effect.

A fine move involving Wellard and the ever more adventurous left-back James Stenning in the 16th minute set up Matt Harmsworth, who from six yards out managed to head over the bar when it seemed simpler to score, with Karamoko flat footed. The groans were audible.

Six minutes later, a fine 14-pass move from defence to attack put the Dons ahead. From the penalty box, the ball was swiftly moved up and across the pitch with some deft running and fine passing before the diminutive Tommy Rose fed Godfrey, who crossed for Harmsworth to bury a superb header from nine yards.

The lead was short-lived. Harrow’s Andrew Harewood put his side level within a minute of the restart, sweeping home a shot from 25 yards that left Brown stranded. It was one of the best displays of individual skill on the night.

It took just nine minutes for Harmsworth to restore the advantage. When Karamoko only half-cleared a cross, the ball fell nicely for Wellard to chip it back in and find the striker inside the box and unmarked, and Harmsworth shot home from a few yards.

Harrow responded and created a number of chances, the best of which in the 35th minute saw Whitely hammer in a shot towards the near post, which Brown saved well and pushed away for a corner. Match saving? Possibly.

At the other end, the Dons’ fifth corner of the half ruthlessly exposed the home side’s defensive disorganisation as a near-post chance went begging, Harmsworth being a little too short to reach the cross. Then, with a minute to go before half-time, quick thinking Dons right-back Ryan Jackson delivered a long throw to Harmsworth in acres of space, and he was soon bearing down on goal as the frantic Harrow defence chased shadows. But he could not complete his hat-trick, and a breathless first half concluded.

The second half didn’t quite live up to the first - both teams had put in so much effort, and also Wimbledon now replaced Godfrey with the more defensively minded Jack Stafford, focusing on retaining rather than extending the lead.

Harrow’s Japanese player Kenta Nakashima began to look threatening on the right wing. Where had he been in the first half? Well marshalled by Godfrey and Wellard, apparently, but now it was simply too much to expect Stenning to cope with his trickery and pace with just one defensive player ahead of him.

It seemed now that the writing was on the wall. Time and again the Harrow players fed Nakashima, who tormented the Dons rearguard, and for almost 30 minutes of the second half it was a Japanese show. But clear-cut chances for Harrow were restricted, sometimes by resolute defending but often by a poor final ball. Corners were forced, and Harewood did get in a shot from one fine pass by Nakashima, but Brown met the challenge well.

Wellard departed, and after that Jackson got injured. Elton Gjoni replaced the former, and the concussed Jackson made way for Under-19 keeper Ali Aksoy, who played an outfield role.

Between these two changes Clayton Dixon had a good shot saved by Brown. And when Harewood recorded his and Harrow’s second in the 82nd minute, following a poor defensive clearance probably caused by tiredness, extra time seemed inevitable. However, this was not going to be the final outcome.

The weakness that had been spotted in the Harrow defence at corners was exploited when, rising like a gazelle, Charlie Clark-Gleave headed home the winner in the 84th minute to break Harrow’s hearts and cue celebrations among the Dons players and travelling supporters.

This was a thoroughly entertaining game, played in terrific spirit throughout, and a great credit to both teams. The semi-final now beckons, to be played at Kingsmeadow against the winners of the other quarter-final tie between Croydon Athletic and Fisher FC.