LITTLE Oakley joint-manager Paul Sadler hailed the character and determintion of his players after they grabbed two late goals to beat Barking Reserves.

In the process, they booked their place in the Essex Premier Cup third round and they now have a home tie against Kelvedon Hatch.

Rob Pratt headed them level, from a great cross by Jake Kioussis.

And with extra-time looming, Oakley got their winner when Lewis Wood nodded home at the far post from Shaun Kioussis’ free-kick.

“It was important we made a good start,” said Sadler.

“Barking slowly got into their stride and, from that point, you could see it was going to be tight.

“After going one down, our players showed character and determination to get back in the game and bounce back immediately to equalise.

“We’d caused problems with our set-pieces, so it was good to see one of them pay-off in the final stages."