Does Culver Road beckon?
If there's one thing that can be said about this game, it's that it will not last long in the memory, apart from maybe, that it was a cup tie we actually won.
It was not a game for the purist amongst us however, there was plenty of endeavour and commitment from both sides throughout, even if the quality was not up to the standard the Crows have been playing of late.
Arundel FC were playing their first game since their manager, Simon Butler, resigned on Saturday after losing 4-0 against Broadbridge Heath, a performance that some of their supporters told me was one of the worst they had seen, which may account for the manager's resignation.
Butler's assistants, Craig Stewart and Barry Pidgeon, have been put in charge on an interim basis and this was their first game in charge, which may account for the amount of effort the players put in, as they try to impress the duo and cement their place in the starting line-up.
The Crows really should have gone 1-0 up as early as the 2nd minute, Shea hitting a free kick past the wall and whilst it looked like an easy save for Fanandes in the Arundel goal, he fumbled the effort and Carrington got to the ball first but hit the post from about a yard out.
The Crows only had to wait until the 9th minute to get their noses in front, Carrington tapping the ball over the line after a great run and shot by Biddlecombe was fumbled once again by the unfortunate Fernandes.
Further chances came and went for the Crows, notably to Biddlecombe, Rawlins and Carrington and with the score still at 1-0 the visitors were not out of the tie, even if their attacks and chances were rather infrequent. If they did have efforts they were normally from distance and were well dealt with by Hampson between the Crows sticks.
The tackles started to get a bit feisty whilst the Crows were putting the visitors under pressure and this resulted in a couple of yellow cards in quick succession for Arundel captain, Hooker-Meehan and fellow centre-half, Peake.
Biddlecombe also incurred the wrath of the referee by kicking the ball away after he was flagged offside and duly saw the dreaded yellow card, a booking he can't really have any complaints about.
Therefore, the half-time break was reached with the Crows 1-0 ahead, looking the better side but not having played as well as they have been, as for Arundel, plenty of effort and commitment although, they relied a lot on the ball over the top of everyone to get anywhere near the Crows goal.
The Crows were very lethargic at the start of the second half and found it very difficult to get out of their own half and have any possession of the ball for the first 15 minutes, although Arundel struggled to create any real clear-cut chances during this period of supremacy.
During this period Biddlecombe did have an effort from the edge of the area cleared off the line by a defender with Fernandes floundering at the edge of his area.
On 61 minutes, Waterman replaced Rawlins and then in the 67th minute, Carrington saw yellow for what appeared to be dissent after a free-kick was awarded against him as he entered into a polite conversation with the Arundel defender.
Ridley went on a dazzling run in the 71st minute and this led to Carrington putting the ball into the net from a narrow angle after beating Fernandes to the ball, therefore, 2-0 to the Crows and everyone associated with the Crows could relax easier.
During the next 5 minutes both sides made substitutions, Clarke going off to be replaced by Tipper for Arundel, Butler going off for the Crows, Clarke taking his place and Liam Da Costa sees a yellow card for a late tackle.
Seeing Liam Da Costa booked was enough for the Arundel managerial duo and he was immediately hauled off to be replaced by Hamilton and Josh Biggs was also taken off to be replaced by Jarvis.
Not to be outdone, Biddlecombe left the field to be replaced by Rich and the Crows saw out the rest of the game without too many drastic moments for a 2-0 victory and progression to the next round.