Eastbourne Borough directors woke up this morning to the prospect of a lucrative FA Cup trip to Ryman premier side Gravesend and Northfleet.

Borough trailed 1-0 to Whyteleafe in Saturday's first qualifying round tie but stormed into a 3-1 lead before enduring a tense finale as the visitors pulled a goal back on 70 minutes.

With £7,500 going to the winners, Wilson said: "There were big smiles on the committee's faces. I've just past the chairman in the corridor and he is beaming. We have some work to do on the ground and they are pleased. It was a bit nerve-wracking near the end but it was pretty pleasing to come back."

At half-time it was the visitors who looked likely to progress. Leion Dillon gave them the lead in the 33rd minute when he applied the finish to Paul McKay's corner and, with Dean Lightwood in the home goal looking increasingly susceptible to the high ball, Whyteleafe were in a commanding position.

But Borough finished the first half with a succession of corners and continued on the offensive after the break.

It paid dividends when, on 51 minutes, the lively Clinton More tumbled on the edge of the box and strike partner Matt Crabb capitalised on the hesitancy in the opposition's defence to curl in a fine goal.

In the 55th minute, the home team were in front. More picked the ball up on the left and cut inside two defenders before drilling a low shot past keeper Nathan Heeley for his fourth goal of the season.

More and Crabb were rampant. They combined to deadly effect in the 66th minute to put Borough 3-1 up. Crabb picked the ball up on the halfway line and exchanged passes with More before coolly firing the ball low into the net from a tight angle.

That should have put the game beyond the reach of the visitors but, when Dillon got his second with a header, the home faithful had an anxious wait for the final whistle.

Two-goal Crabb spoke about his blossoming partnership with More. He said: "Clinton's a good player and I enjoy playing alongside him. We just like playing each other in, I know where he's going to be without looking up and vice versa.

"The money involved meant there was an incentive to win, that was stressed a lot beforehand."

Wilson, although pleased with the win, admitted there was still plenty of room for improvement.

He said: "We have to be more consistent within the 90 minutes. When we played well we were excellent.

"We did that for 15 minutes and we scored three times. But we have to do that for longer. Consistency is the key, both with individuals and the team."

If Wilson can achieve that level of consistency then there should be happy times ahead for the directors at Priory Lane.

The manager added: "The financial aspect makes the difference between us building a new stand or not building it.

"This win has earned us £7,500 to go with the £1,000 from the last round. We know we can look forward to a decent gate at Gravesend and we'll get half of that.

"We also have the opportunity of getting another £7,500 if we win that. The finances are vital."