As one of the First Division's hottest teams, Southampton Rangers might have expected easy advancement when they hosted Second Division Paget in the first round of the FA Cup yesterday.

They didn't get it.

Backed by the acrobatic goalkeeping of Raymond Young, Paget scratched and clawed for every possession before finally bowing out in a physical and at times ill-tempered clash at soggy Southampton Oval.

It took a surprise 85th minute goal by veteran full back Ryan Belboda to finally end the threat, sending Rangers in to the quarter-finals in February.

Even then Paget were down to nine players, thanks to an injury to Dwayne Bean minutes earlier and the sending off of Wayne Tucker in the first half. Bean was carried off the field but, with his team having used up all their substitutes, returned in an attempt to give his team a final push.

Tucker, meanwhile, was sent to the showers after a confrontation with Rangers midfielder Craig Darrell. The two collided and Tucker came up swinging, earning a red card from referee George O'Brien. He argued for several minutes before departing and the match turned uglier when a Paget fan wandered on to the pitch to take up Tucker's cause, finally leaving when O'Brien threated to abandon the match.

Paget were down 2-0 at that point, following goals by Rohaan Simons (after seven minutes) and Janeiro Tucker (33 minutes).

Emotions cooled during the interval -- perhaps too much for Rangers.

A shocking goal by Dale Russell from just inside the centre circle -- he looped a long ball over the head of the dozing Rangers keeper -- halved the lead ten minutes into the restart.

Kwame Tucker got the marker back for Rangers two minutes later but Paget again refused to wilt. Substitute David Outerbridge made an immediate impact, rocketing a waist-high pass just over the bar before sending Curtis Azhar in alone for the second Paget goal with 13 minutes to play.

Rangers were playing without regulars Herbie Dillas and Shawn Simmons but still had all kinds of opportunites in front of Young, with Darrell, Tucker, Simons and Corey Simmons the biggest threats.

Simons came in for special attention but still scored his 14th goal of the season, hitting home a rebound from Tucker's 20-yard volley. Tucker got his on a superb free kick from just outside the area.

Rangers: R.Darrell, J.Raynor, R.Belboda, N.Grant, P.Brangman, C.Simmons, R.Simons, J.Tucker, C.Darrell (G.Williams, 88 mins.), M.Scott (D.Tucker, 75 mins.), K.Tucker.

Paget: R.Young, D.Williams, W.Tucker, B. Simmons (J.Matthews, 45 mins.), K.Burt, C.Azhar, A.Baker, D.Bean, M.Williams (D.Outerbridge, 65 mins.), D.Russle (A.Anderson, 70 mins.), C.Wright.

Men of the match: Janeiro Tucker (Rangers); Raymond Young (Paget) Referee: George O'Brien.