Brighton needed a penalty shootout to settle their FA Cup third round replay against non-league Wrexham and earn a money-spinning clash against Premier League side Newcastle.
In the 20-year anniversary of their famous cup shock of Arsenal, Wrexham threatened to pull off another giant-killing through player-manager Andy Morrell's stunning strike midway through the first half.
But despite making most of the running, they could not find a second goal and Gus Poyet's side equalised on 77 minutes through Ashley Barnes to force extra time.
After a scoreless extra 30 minutes, the game went to penalties and substitute Dean Keates' opening spot-kick was saved by Peter Brezovan, with the Seagulls netting all of their penalties to eliminate the Blue Square Bet Premier leaders.