The Whites produced a late, late show to progress to the first qualifying round with Conor Ready netting a 93rd minute winner less than two minutes after Adam Morgan had levelled for nine-man Mossley.

Widnes have lead 2-0 with goals from Ready and James Steele, but the Lilywhites fought back through Adam Jones and Morgan's late equaliser despite having Ben Halfacre and Ryan Brooke sent off.

Akrigg was ecstatic to see his Widnes side progress despite a letting a two-goal lead slip.

"The first half was exceptional," Akrigg said.

"To be honest, we could have been out of sight at half-time. We had three or four one-on-ones after Conor put us in front.

"It was similar to Ramsbottom on the opening day where missed chances came back to bite us, but luckily enough we've come out on top tonight and gone through.

"Credit to Mossley who did well to get back into the game. Perhaps we were a little bit naive where we were 2-0 up and they went down to 10-men.

"We could have done a little better with both of their goals, but I'm made up that we got the winner to get ourselves in the next round."

The late win carried extra significance as Widnes' first-ever FA Cup victory, booking a first qualifying round tie at home to Whitby Town this weekend.

When asked about his side's achievement, Akrigg spoke of his pride at finally recording a win in the world's most famous domestic cup competition.

He said: "I've played in this competition many times over the years and I haven't enjoyed too many cup runs.

"It's always nice to win in the FA Cup, especially considering that we were 2-0 down at home in the initial fixture and came back to earn a replay.

"Tonight was the opposite. We were 2-0 up and let it slip but we eventually got the winner this time-around.

"I said after the first leg that we deserved to go and win it, so I'm delighted that we've come here tonight and got the job done."

Akrigg reserved praise for the contributions of Ready, who netted a brace on the night.

The forward signed for Widnes in October last year but suffered an injury-hit campaign and was limited to only 15 appearances in all competitions.

Co-boss Akrigg heaped praise on the former Marine man who has hit the ground running this term.

"Conor's been superb," Akrigg said.

"He's technically very good and he looks after the ball really well. One thing you probably don't see is his intelligence on the ball. His choice of pass is almost always the right one.

"He contributes defensively as well. He gets back, fills the gaps and doesn't let teams play out, and then we break through him."