IT'S on. The clash of the local heavyweights goes ahead with Lancaster City and Morecambe preparing to step through the Giant Axe ropes in the fourth round of the FA Trophy after the Dolly Blues delivered a knockout punch to Vauxhall Motors.
The lure of Morecambe was big on a tension-filled Tuesday night but if the third round replay had been a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the contest no sooner than it started.
And in their ex-Morecambe players, City had men who were champions as they pursued the dream of a clash against their old side.
That dream became reality and the win not only booked the Shrimps' showdown but took City into the previously uncharted waters of the FA Trophy fourth round.
It was impossible to pick a player performing below his best but selecting heroes was easy.
Ryan-Zico Black and Peter Thomson scored a goal each while Neil Uberschar - the man with most to prove to More-cambe boss Jim Harvey - was awesome.
Quietly there were fears that some City players could freeze against a Vauxhall side who wanted the fourth round payday with the Shrimps just as much as the Dolly's. But it took just 11 minutes for those fears to disappear.
Motors' keeper Tim Dittmer fluffed a clearance and the ball fell to Black 30 yards from goal. There was no gimme' about the chance as three defenders surrounded Black, but he twisted, turned and shimmied to create space before lobbing the now fully retreated Dittmer from 25 yards.
The Giant Axe fell silent for a second in disbelief before fans took a second look to make sure they had not imagined what they had just seen. It was Black's first goal since October and it was worth the wait.
City were an ace away from another goal seconds later when Jamie Speare's punt was flicked on for Thomson, who held off a defender before beating Dittmer and the post with a shot.
Ryan Elderton - another ex-Shrimp - headed over when he could have scored before being kicked out of the game on 39 minutes. But his replacement Tony Sullivan had a first touch to savour as he flicked Black's corner on for Thomson to nod home for 2-0.
Vauxhall looked stunned in fact the Motors suffered a breakdown of sorts because, despite pushing after the break, created little.
And on 68 minutes Sullivan skipped round Dittmer after Uberschar's classy through ball to make it 3-0.
For Sullivan that party was to last just four more minutes as he was rushed to hospital with a serious ankle injury as Vaux-hall's players decided on a more robust approach.
Black was also limping when he was subbed late on and manager Phil Wilson says: "The only downer is that I have three men with ankle injuries and Sulli's is a bad one.
"We will have to see how Zico and Elderton are ahead of Saturday's game at Altrincham that's the most important game for us now."
But the cool-as-you-like boss admits: "That was a big, big result for everyone at the club and for the fans.
"The Morecambe game will be a special one in front of a big crowd and they will not fancy it. Of course they are favourites because they are a Conference side and we are a league below them. But it will be a good, tight game."
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