Commercial League side Tuff Dogs came within two minutes of claiming the scalp of First Division Wolves before caving in at the death in a thrilling cup tie at BAA Field yesterday.

It seemed that Wolves were on their way out of the FA Cup with the clock ticking down and Tuff Dogs protecting a 3-2 lead.

But Hobte Burrows scrambled in the equaliser on 88 minutes and then Kemo Smith tapped in the winner with almost the last kick of the game to break Tuff Dogs? hearts.

Most of the drama of a topsy-turvy battle came in the second half after Wolves had gone into the break with a deserved one-goal lead.

That goal was a cracker, a right-foot volley in the 22nd minute, steered into the corner of the net by Vincent Minors from a deep left-wing cross by Jamine Douglas.

Tuff Dogs barely threatened at all in the first 45 minutes and it was all they could do to keep Wolves down to one goal, as the ball repeatedly cannoned off legs in the Commercial side?s penalty area like a pinball machine.

But the underdogs appeared more confident after the break and almost equalised within a minute of the restart, when Jeff Franklin tricked his way past a defender?s challenge down the left flank and pulled the ball back for Andrew Scott, who scuffed his shot, allowing a defender to clear.

In the 58th minute, the game burst into life as the Commercial side levelled. A long ball found right-winger Nelson Martins in space and he slipped the ball through to Jeff Franklin, who hit a fine, left-footed shot from 20 yards into the left-hand corner.

Parity lasted just six minutes however, as Minors grabbed his second goal with a deflected shot from just inside the penalty area to put Wolves back in front.

Tuff Dogs kept battling away and pulled it back to 2-2, courtesy of the same combination that brought them their first goal. This time, Franklin was the creator and Martins the scorer.

Franklin sprang the offside trap and just beat goalkeeper Gerald Georges in a race to a pass played through the middle. He was forced wide, but managed to chip a pinpoint cross to the far post, where Martins leaped to send his header into the net.

All the momentum was now with Tuff Dogs and they almost took the lead when Scott?s 25-yard free-kick drifted just over the crossbar.

Scott had to wait only another 60 seconds to get his goal, however. Again, Franklin was heavily involved. A throw-in found the left winger inside the Wolves penalty area and he brought it down well and his cross on the turn was deflected into the path of Scott, who slid it home from close range.

The team celebrated wildly, knowing they had just 16 minutes to hold out to cause an FA Cup shock. It was one-way traffic towards the Tuff Dogs goal in those latter stages.

Minors tried and failed four times to complete his hat-trick, most spectacularly with an overhead kick that was blocked by Geoff Sousa, and a volley that was well stopped by goalkeeper Justin Barritt.

Just as it seemed the Commercial side had done enough, double disaster struck in the final two minutes.

Wolves pulled it back to 3-3 when defender Danny Faria ? who had been solid throughout at the heart of the Tuff Dogs rearguard ? scuffed his attempt to clear a cross from the right. The ball fell to Burrows, who managed to squeeze his shot under the dive of Barritt.

Wolves continued to pile on the pressure as the game went into stoppage time. A corner was partially cleared and fell to substitute Tarik Hill on the edge of the box, who completely miscued his shot. But Barritt somehow allowed the bobbling ball to dribble through his hands and Smith was quick to react, forcing the ball home from right under the crossbar.

Tuff Dogs were distraught, none more so than Barritt, after a fine effort that fell only just short.