Northwood put their recent league woes behind them to progress to the next round of the FA Trophy with a penalty shoot out win over in-form Haywards Heath Town.

Neither side was able to make the breakthrough in 90 minutes but with no extra-time Woods won through Saturday's second qualifying round 4-3 on spot-kicks.

Their reward is a home tie against Berkhamsted on Saturday, October 30.

Northwood came into the tie on the back of two heavy league defeats where they conceded an avalanche of goals, prompting manager Ben Murray to make changes to his defensive set up by giving a debut to goalkeeper Dan Purdue in place of Montel Joseph and opting for three central defenders in Adam Cash, Ryan Avery and Arnie Linturn.

Striker Ismael Ehui returned after his injury lay-off in place of Connor Cullen with Shakeel Morris moved to a more central role to partner Ehui while Gio Palmer was given his first start on the left flank.

The visitors were quickly out of the blocks and showed why they currently top the Isthmian South East Division table by creating a succession of chances in the opening 20 minutes – Purdue pulling off a couple of smart saves to deny Kieran Rowe and Tom Cadman while the former had another effort scrambled clear by Avery.

Northwood stood up to the early examination and managed to counter with Morris having a couple of half chances.

The hosts were given a reminder of Haywards Heath's attacking prowess as Nathan Cooper forced Purdue into a full-length save with a shot from distance.

At the other end, Woods had a great opportunity to take the lead when Cash advanced from the back before sliding the ball through to Ehui but he scuffed his shot when well placed.

Northwood could be content with their first-half performance but would need to maintain the level in the second period if they were to progress. And the early stages followed a similar pattern to that of the opening half as the hosts were forced onto the back foot with Rowe having a close-range effort blocked before Cadman saw his fierce cross shot rebound off the underside of the crossbar amid claims of a foul on Cash in the build-up.

Having resisted the Heathens' pressure, Woods began to ask questions of their own once again with Morris and Declan Nche combining well to create an opening for Ehui but his shot was comfortably gathered by Billy Collings.

Northwood continued to press for that elusive goal and they went close as Morris saw his shot rebound off the base of the far upright after Nche had headed Leo Decabo’s lofted free-kick back into the danger area.

Both sides had opportunities in the last 15 minutes as they sought to make the breakthrough – Purdue producing a superb point blank save to keep out Luke Robinson’s header, while at the other end substitute Imani Matthews surged forward before picking out Morris who was crowded out by the defence as he looked to get his shot away.

Play continued to ebb and flow with Purdue producing another fine save to keep out Byron Napper’s long-range effort, but the defences stood firm as the tie went straight to penalties.

Substitute Matteo Esporito struck first for Woods and after Jensen Dos Sanos had missed the first penalty for the visitors, Decabo and Nche made no mistake for the home side. The Heathens recovered to convert their next two attempts, but Cash saw his effort saved by Collings.

Next up was Morris who made no mistake to heap the pressure on Cadman with the visitors' fifth penalty, but man of the match Purdue guessed right to win the tie for Northwood, sparking celebrations between players and supporters.