By Andrew Finch

Molesey appeared in control at half-time with Moses Spencer's close range effort giving them a deserved lead against a weakened Westfield side who barely posed a threat during the opening 45 minutes.

That all changed in the second half as Shane Cheeseman deservedly drew them level before Westfield's Shaun Brown picked a fight with Joe Pratley-Jones off for the ball which led to red cards for both players, and they were followed down the tunnel seconds later by Molesey's Andy Graves.

Chalke restored Molesey's lead with a curling free kick into the top corner from over 25 yards out, and despite sustained Westfield pressures in the closing stages the Moles hung on.

On an evening when events in Boston put football firmly into perspective both sides were nonetheless frustrated by a refereeing performance littered with inconsistency, fussiness and baffling decisions, although his job was made harder by squabbling, gamesmanship, and in the case of Brown, downright thuggery.

Molesey lined up missing Jordan McCartney, Arnold Tawonezvi and Colin Hartburn, whilst the visitors apparently made eight changes to the side defeated 2-1 at fellow promotion hopefuls Frimley Green a little over 48 hours earlier. The Moles were well rested having not played for six days, and that freshness was evident during a first half that the hosts bossed despite being nowhere near their fluent best.

A couple of early half chances came and went, before Joe Grant's quick feet created a yard of space but his effort rolled agonisingly the wrong side of the post.

Manny Quarshie managed to get in front of his marker and looped a volley into the arms of the Westfield keeper Tony Davis, whilst Grant planted a firm header into the grateful arms of the Westfield custodian.

The opening goal arrived seven minutes from the break when the Westfield defence fell asleep at a quick throw from Pratley-Jones that picked out Quarshie on the byline. He swivelled and fired across goal for the grateful Moses Spencer to slot home from practically on the goal line.

The game had been officiated in a sensible manner at this point, with challenges from Westfield's Beale and Molesey's Quarshie that might otherwise have justified a booking being dealt with by a ticking off, but the second half wasn't very old when the controversy begun.

As was the case against Hanworth Villa last week the Moles were slow to get going after the re-start, and they looked to have paid for their laxity when an unmarked Oli Dixon got on the end of a deep cross and prodded goalwards. Credit must go to Graves for hooking the ball up onto the bar, but from a very long distance away the ball looked like it had crossed the line. Neither the ref nor linesman felt able to give the goal, to leave the visitors furious.

Further controversy followed when Kristian Webb missed a header from a deep free kick that resulted in a foot race between Spencer and Cheeseman. The Molesey centre half appeared to do nothing more than use his sizeable frame to ease Cheeseman away from the ball, but the ref adjudged that he gained an unfair advantage in doing so. Spencer was unquestionably the last man so once the free kick had been given Spencer's dismissal appeared a formality, but he was only issued with just a caution.

Westfield drew level from the resulting free-kick; the ball was driven into a dangerous area and when the Moles failed to clear their lines, Cheeseman poked home from close range.

Matt Steer smashed a header against the Molesey bar as the away side looked more likely, although the momentum appeared to have swung in Molesey's favour when Pratley-Jones alerted the ref to the fact that he was being assaulted on the pitch by Brown, who was throwing a succession of punches the Molesey skipper's way.

Brown was given his marching orders and will now presumably face a lengthy ban and heavy sanction by his club, and the ref had decided that Pratley-Jones's involvement had been enough to justify a second booking following his daft earlier caution for throwing the ball away.

Play was resumed with a drop-ball, but was stopped again moments later when the drop-ball contesters, Graves and Olly Dixon, allegedly pushed each other, and Graves was ordered to follow Brown and Pratley-Jones down the tunnel.

Westfield continued to pile on the pressure, but a rare foray into opposition territory led to two Molesey free-kicks in promising positions in quick succession, the second of which saw Chalke curl an effort beyond the outstretched arm of Davis into the top corner.

The final fifteen minutes were played almost entirely in the Molesey half, but despite Westfield getting into some promising positions the home defence remained disciplined and Molesey progressed to their first cup final appearance of the Steve Webb era.