Paul Stokes defied the pain barrier to help Lewes into round one of the FA Cup for the first time in their 116-year history.

Stokes struck his first goal of the season, then substitute Dominic Shepherd bagged his 19th of the campaign in the second half as the Rooks beat Mangotsfield 2-0 in their fourth qualifying round replay in front of a crowd of 1,802 at the Dripping Pan.

Lewes, so long the poor relations of Sussex soccer, now have a money-spinning home tie with second division Stoke City on November 17, although the game looks likely to be switched to Stoke's Britannia Stadium.

Stokes against Stoke: it sounds a mis-match. But that's the romance of the FA Cup and this was a night neither the Lewes midfielder nor any of his team-mates will forget.

Suffering with a hernia-related hamstring injury, Stokes had been receiving treatment around the clock since Saturday's goalless draw in Bristol in order to be fit for this game.

He revealed: "I was lucky to make the game. I have got to thank Ben Roeder and Mike Yaxley, who have been working on me since the game on Saturday.

"They have worked wonders. I didn't think I was going to play but I have and it has turned out nice."

As for his 31st minute opener, Stokes added: "Jimmy has been on at the midfield to get forward and get strikes in. This was the first time I had got forward this season.

"I was saying to the lads beforehand that I was going to get my first one tonight. Tonight's the night and I'm absolutely stoked!"

It was a terrific all-round effort for the Rooks with Justin Harris equally dominant in midfield alongside Stokes but manager Jimmy Quinn had special praise for his opening goalscorer.

Quinn said: "Paul had treatment on Sunday, took a day off work on Monday having treatment two or three times a day, then a day off work today.

"He was very close to not playing but he really wanted to play and that showed in his performance. He gave it everything he had until he could run no more and had to come off. It was a fantastic performance."

Quinn had sprung a surprise in his team selection as he dropped leading scorer Shepherd to the substitutes bench.

Sam Francis was asked to play as a lone striker with Matt Beeston coming into an otherwise unchanged line-up at left back.

Graham Bannatyne was named as substitute goalkeeper but Mark McCallum was missing due to work commitments.

Quinn explained: "I thought Mangotsfield were pretty good down the flanks. They sprang us a couple of times on Saturday. I thought we would double up on the flanks and play with one main striker with two supporting players.

"I don't know if it worked but we scored playing like that, then Chris Dicker ran out of steam and we changed it back to our normal formation."

Ironically, it was Shepherd who came off the bench to seal victory with a smart finish in the 69th minute.

Strike partner Francis did the spadework with a crossfield run which seemed to be taking him nowhere until he cut back inside and slipped a pass to Shepherd who finished with aplomb.

Shepherd said: "Sam did excellent but he worked hard all night. He made a good little run as he does and just laid it off to me. I took my time, looked up, the keeper came out and I tucked it away nicely.

"When it came to me I thought, 'Oh gawd, I don't want to miss this', but it sat up nicely for me and I put it away.

"It is tremendous. You couldn't dream of a better draw, playing Stoke in the next round."

Stoke City's watching scout would not have been too impressed with a scrappy contest but Mangotsfield, from the Dr Martens League Western Division, could have no complaints with the result.

The Mangos' former Bristol City and Northampton striker David Seal, with 11 goals in the FA Cup this season, hardly had a sniff all night and he was withdrawn in the closing stages.

The kickoff had to be put back 15 minutes as the biggest crowd Lewes had seen for many years packed into the Dripping Pan.

Lewes may have taken the lead inside the first minute as Harris picked out Chris Dicker in the penalty area. His lob caught goalkeeper Dave Dyson off his line but just cleared the bar.

Chances were at a premium in a scrappy opening period and a niggly affair was highlighted by four yellow cards in as many minutes midway through the half, with Lewes pair Andy Johnson and Stokes being joined in the book by Mangotsfield's Seal and Gareth Loydon.

The visitors tried their luck on 26 minutes with a shot from distance by Claridge but home keeper Ross Standen was equal to the task, saving low down to his left.

The deadlock was broken on 31 minutes with a superb strike by Stokes. An injection of pace saw him burst past two Mangotsfield midfielders before unleashing a terrific strike from 25 yards which found the bottom corner.

That meant the visitors had to try to push forward more in the second and in doing so they left gaps at the back.

Darren Edwards forced a save from Standen just before Shepherd scored but it was the only time they breached a Rooks backline where Paul Thomsett swept up whatever Marc Cable and Stuart Hack missed, which to be honest was hardly anything.

In the closing stages Francis was denied a third goal by the crossbar. That would have capped a night which will now go down as Lewes's finest hour.