Chatham Town have made it through to the first round of the FA Youth Cup for the first time in their history.

Chats were twice in front against Maidenhead United in Wednesday night’s third qualifying round tie, which ended 2-2, but they won through after a nail-biting penalty shootout which saw goalkeeper George Ray make four saves.

Chatham scored their first two spot kicks but failed to convert their next three. Maidenhead missed a chance to win the shootout with their fifth kick. In sudden death, Chats scored three times to win 5-4.

First-team boss and club chairman Kevin Hake was there to watch and was thrilled to see the young side become history-makers.

He said: “It was a fantastic night for the football club and one this group of players will remember for a long time. The game was a really well-spirited contest and, after finishing 2-2, the lads showed great character and composure to come through the penalty shoot-out.

George Ray will quite rightly get a lot of the headlines after saving four penalties in the shoot-out, which was an exceptional achievement, but the team as a whole deserve tremendous credit for the performance on the night.

“I thought the lads were excellent throughout and showed real togetherness, discipline and belief to get us over the line.

Clive Anderson had put Chats a goal up at Maidenhead midway through the first half, and they remained ahead at the break, but the home side levelled seven minutes after the restart.

Chatham took the lead again in the 90th minute through Bailey Streatfield but almost immediately Maidenhead got back level once more, taking the tie to penalties.

“The biggest thing for us is that this group has now made history,” Hake said.

“Chatham Town has produced some excellent young players over the years, with Harvey Broad, Sam Sene Richardson and Ike Orji all progressing from our academy into professional football.

“More recently, Kian Garlinge, Mo Gibbs, Clarence Tambe and Will Samways have all made first-team debuts this season, which shows the pathway remains strong.

“Full credit to Tim Moffatt and his academy management team for continually developing and nurturing this talent year on year.

“However, despite all of that talent in the past, this is the first Chatham Town team to reach the first round, so these players have now written their own piece of club history.

“That is something nobody can ever take away from them.

“I am excited to see how this group progresses as a collective and how many push on and enjoy great careers in the game.”

Chatham had already beaten Dover Athletic, Sittingbourne and Hollands & Blair in previous rounds.

They now await Friday’s draw to discover their opponents, with EFL League One and Two clubs coming into the competition.

Hake added: “Naturally everyone around the club will be excited to see who we get.

“Whoever it is, reaching this stage is a significant achievement and one we should enjoy.

“I also want to thank every supporter who travelled to Maidenhead. It is a difficult journey on a midweek evening, so to see so many Chatham supporters there backing the team meant a great deal to all of us.”