Ceri Flye's first-half equaliser wasn't enough against Boldmere St Michael's Women, as a late goal at The Nest sees Norwich City exit the Adobe Women’s FA Cup in the second round.
It was drama at the death on Sunday as a 96th-minute strike saw Boldmere St Michael's take victory over Martin Herdman's side.
City got off to a bright start from the first whistle, looking to set an early tempo to the game.
Inside 60 seconds, Ellie Smith was testing the St Michael's defence after a mazy run into the box, earning a corner for her efforts.
Neither goalkeeper had much to do in the first half, as both sides were restricted to shots from range and half-chances.
Philippa Wilson proved most dangerous for the visitors, poking just wide in the 16th minute, and having a second chance blocked in the 20th.
In the 33rd minute, the Mikes would get the breakthrough, as Jade Formaston headed home from a corner.
Norwich wouldn’t be behind for long, however, as the concession spurred an immediate reaction from the women in yellow and green.
The Canaries would take just five minutes to respond from a corner of their own.
Skipper Anna Larkins whipped a lovely corner from the right side met by Shannon Shaw, whose guided header fell perfectly into the path of an on-coming Flye for the equaliser.
The second half would see even fewer chances for either side as a series of injury delays and robust defending from both brought a wariness to the game.
Norwich’s first big chance of the second half came in the 72nd minute, as Smith once again wriggled her way into a dangerous area but failed to test Jodie Whiteman from a difficult shooting angle.
Boldmere asked questions from set-pieces late on but could do little to panic the veteran gloves of Sarah Quantrill.
Norwich could have won the game themselves in the 90th minute, as Smith found counterpart Natasha Snelling in a decent area, but the forward couldn’t direct the effort inside the post.
As the heavens opened to compound the cold, the game looked destined for extra-time, but in the 96th minute, the tricky Wilson would fire home to send Boldmere St Michael's into the hat for the third round of the FA Cup.
Norwich will look to bounce back from their cup exit next weekend when they face FAWNL South East league-leaders AFC Wimbledon at The Nest.
Norwich City: Quantrill, Parker, Flye, Todd, Smith, Larkins, Knights, Symonds (Lawrence 76), Morran, Tomlinson, Shaw (Snelling 57)
Subs not used: Daviss, Hailes, Pernet, Cook, Strauss.
Goals: Flye (37)
Boldmere St. Michaels: Whiteman, Sutton, Kirk, Wilcox, Wilson, Formaston, Billingsley, Abdallah, Bickley, Bevan, Keeling
Subs not used: Sherrell, Bryan, Travers, Ackroyd, Wallace, Stokes, Taylor
Goals: Formaston (33), Wilson (90+6)
Attendance: 333