Appiah headed the opener after 26 minutes, shortly after Tilbury’s top scorer Danny Francis had limped off. Francis has 14 goals in league and FA competitions this season, and Dockers will be hoping that his injury is a minor one.
Junior Dadson almost doubled the lead immediately after half-time with a shot that hit the inside of a post and Appiah nabbed his second in the 62nd minute, nudging the ball into the net as he, Tilbury keeper James Marrable and defender Bradley Barnes all lay in a tangle on the goalline (pictured by Mikey Cartwright).
Appiah missed the simplest of chances to complete his hat-trick a minute later, the first in a rapid succession of Aveley blunders in front of the Tilbury goal which allowed the visitors to get back into the game with an 80th-minute penalty by Joel Barnett.
Millers almost paid the price for their wastefulness in added time, when Tom Wraight was inches away from taking the tie to a penalty shoot-out with a shot that crashed against a post.
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