Dunstable doubled their lead soon after the interval, with Hankins grabbing his second of the night after a defensive mishap that seemed to put Harefield’s progression in the tournament in jeopardy.

A late Harefield onslaught, aided by a Tash Jordan strike was not enough for the Hares as the Bedfordshire outfit progressed to the second round.

The Hares sit six places and seven points ahead of the visitors in the Premier Division, but this numerical advantage couldn’t be translated into a strong enough performance in the corresponding cup.

The early stages saw Reece Mallett being forced into a good save from a low header as a result of a corner, before Harry McCorkell had two efforts blocked at the other end of the pitch.

Joe Hankins opened his account for the season within the opening ten minutes, seeing through a low driven shot that found it’s way under Mallett.

Both sides traded good efforts, from Harefield’s Sam Shaw and Dunstable’s Craig Packham respectively, but little came the way of the ’keepers to trouble them.

Sean Mangan came close to converting, directing a header that he probably wasn’t to much aware of, just wide of the post in a half characterized by poor final balls and lack of clinical edge in the final third.

Jason Shaw’s side came out for the second 45 with a renewed sense of optimism, endeavouring to find that all important equaliser with Gurkan Gokmen coming close.

Dunstable’s sucker punch came twelve minutes into the half, when Hankins caught out and onrushing Mallett, rounding the keeper and finishing from distance for his second of the night and only second of the season.

The tie lay finely in the balance, and some excellent defensive work from Ryan Wharton on a Dunstable counter prevented the result from being beyond reasonable doubt, in what was a performance marshalled from the back line.

Richard Pacquette’s excellent swivelled strike was matched by a save tipped over by Gould in the late stages, where defensive solidity from the visitor’s back line, notably Eric Ameyaw, was ample.

Substitute Tash Jordan eventually broke the resistance with fantastic one- two interplay with Gokmen, setting him up for a hard driven hit to give the home faithful some optimism in the final minutes.

The final whistle blew soon after, and with some unfortunate unsavoury scenes to boot, Harefield will ponder if with a few more minutes on the board would have allowed a famous comeback.

Harefield will now prepare for a league matchup with high flyers Biggleswade United, while Dunstable take on Harpenden Town at the weekend.

The latter will most importantly have a date to remember when they take on Leverstock Green on the 5th of November in the Premier Division Cups’s second round.

Harefield United Team
Reece Mallett (GK)
Harry McCorkell
Steven Green
Ryan Wharton
Gary Edwards
Sean Mangan (C)
Paul Underwood
Richard Pacquette
Gurkan Gokmen
Sam Shaw
Luke Baldwin

Subs:
Lenny Farhall (Used)
Tash Jordan (Used)
Lee McManus
Adderil Dede (Used)
Sam Addea

Dunstable Town Team
Daniel Gould (GK)
Adam Sawyer
Daniel Trif
Eric Ameyaw
Ben Collins
Chris Stapleton
Daniel Blackman
Harry Shepherd
Craig Packham
Jack Harvey Bailey
Joe Hankins

Subs
Oliver Regan(Used)
Andre Elliot
Davide Pobbe
Jack McCool (Used)
Sebastian Smith (Used)