Riding high in the NPL Division One East and fresh from a 5-1 demolition of Bridlington Town, the Nailers were clear favourites against a team that had made a modest start to life in NPL Division One Central.

The hosts were without Curtis Burrows and Rev James, two big players admittedly, but this was a disjointed display and out of character from recent performances.

Make no mistake, the visitors were tough opposition and were the better team for long spells but that didn’t excuse a Nailers outfit of whom supporters expected much more but didn’t get it.

Yet the Nailers could have gone ahead after 3 minutes when Kevin Bastos received the ball 15 yards out, but his low shot caught the underside of Brendan Bunn’s body and kept the ball out.

Jai Verma was a constant threat on the left and he stung Jonathan Hedge’s palms with a shot in the 6th minute, and the Nailers just couldn’t get their game together as the visitors got into their stride.

Declan Dunn put a shot wide on 19 minutes, however it was Wood who took the lead in the 20th minute when a cross from the left caused problems for Belper who couldn’t get the ball clear, and Sam Unitt took advantage to put the visitors ahead.

Supporters were concerned to see Danny South limping off the pitch before the game restarted and Ben Algar joined the fray in a much altered back four.

Worse was to come as Belper’s erratic passing gave hope in abundance to Wood, and from a free kick 4 minutes later they scored their second when Matthew Hughes glanced the ball in at the near post.

The Nailers tried to recover and on 32 minutes Bastos raced through only to see his powerful shot blocked as the ball gathered pace.

Bastos’s persistence drew a foul from Walsall skipper Joshua Mansell and a penalty kick was awarded. Unfortunately, the usually reliable Bastos struck his spot kick against the cross bar, and it was a glum Nailers team that trooped off at half time.

The Nailers made a promising start to the second half with James Cadman providing a fine cross for Alex Troke to head just wide.

Lady luck frowned upon the Nailers again on 59 minutes when another great run from top scorer Bastos ended with the Belper striker’s shot hitting the inside of the post and running the full length of the goal line.

Further problems befell Belper when Phil Watt’s petulant kick out at Jai Verma floored the Wood player and the referee pulled his red card from his pocket and Watt trudged disconsolately off the field leaving the Nailers a man short.

However, adversity sometimes brings the best out in Belper and the introduction of Adam Bessadi pepped things up for the hosts who sensed that Wood were happy to defend their lead.

In the 83rd minute Cameron Johnson and Mason Warren combined to reduce the arrears for the Nailers as Warren lashed the ball in from close range.

With 15 minutes to play, including added time, hopes were raised that Belper could take the game to penalties.

However, it was too steep a task for the Nailers as Wood managed the game effectively to its conclusion, although Bunn had to pluck a looping header from Bastos out of the sky to send the visitors through to the next round.

Belper Town: Hedge, Rhodes, Mackie, Dunn, South (Algar 20), Watt, Cadman, Warren, Troke (Bessadi 69), Johnson, Bastos. Unused subs: Gregory, Austin, Rabone.

Walsall Wood: Bunn, Machisa (Watkins 86), Mansell, Hughes, Roberts, Fitzpatrick, Verma (Brown 96), Unitt, Butlin, Bradley, Monteiro. Unused subs: Gyasi, Riley-Stewart, Smith, Clark, Noakes.

Referee: Matthew Tyers

Att: 368