Supporters remained in the ground long after the final whistle, the players did two laps of honour, the PA announcer incessantly congratulated the team and then played We Are The Champions - what would they have done had Scarborough won?

The people of Scarborough were quite rightly proud of their team of nobodies, who never relented against a Chelsea side whose John Terry notched the winner early on.

The Seasiders battled throughout to send their fans home satisfied, despite being denied what looked a blatant penalty.

A party atmosphere enveloped the ground - around 1,000 supporters were already there two hours before kick-off - and lasted long into the night after the non-league paupers gave the Premiership princes a tough game.

Following a week of mass-media coverage, the hype continued into Saturday and the pre-match shenanigans provided an entertaining sideshow.

Page three girls, present as part of the Sun's matchday sponsorship, strolled the McCain Stadium, a look-a-like of Roman Abramovich posed for photographs, policemen acted as emergency ball boys for giant beach balls bouncing out of the crowd onto the pitch, while loud music blasting from huge speakers added to the feelgood factor.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime day for Scarborough. Not only did the world and his dog have their eyes on the North Yorkshire club, but they were receiving £500,000 for the privilege.

That's the estimated total the Seasiders expect to make from Saturday - how much more appreciated would that have been had Darlington been in the same position?

The Escape To Victory theme tune pre-empted the players' entrance - perhaps some at Scarborough were hoping midfielder Clint Marcelle would be inspired to produce a Pele-esque overhead-kick or perhaps some Ossie Ardiles-style ball skills.

Bobby Moore also starred in that film, and although the opposition may have been inferior to that he'd faced on the international stage, any more commanding performances like Saturday's and Terry will be finding himself compared to England's greatest captain.

Terry, described in the matchday programme as the "lesser-known brother" of Paul Terry, of Scarborough's Conference rivals Dagenham & Redbridge last season, was solid throughout and rarely looked anything other than international class.

He even dribbled through midfield before shooting just wide from outside the penalty area.

Home hopes were pinned on Mark Quayle, the £2,000 man and goalscoring hero of the previous round's win over Southend, but he had a thankless task. Remarkably, considering the level of hype the club received last week, Russell Slade's team didn't allow themselves to be distracted, and neither did Chelsea, who almost opened the scoring after 90 seconds, Frank Lampard's swerving first-time effort from 30 yards cannoning back off the post.

This signalled the Londoners' intent as Claudio Ranieri's men weren't in the mood for a Cup shock. They started at pace and after ten minutes Terry got his goal, nodding in on the line following a corner.

For most of the first-half Chelsea were dominant and wasted many chances - Jesper Gronkjaer and Eider Gudjohnsen particularly.

The Seasiders made a fight of it after the break but, as in the latter stages of the first-half, too often they wasted possession with Marcelle, Ashley Sestanovic and Tristman Whitman all guilty of dwelling on the ball then losing it in the final third, while goalkeeper Leigh Walker was called upon to produce a great save from William Gallas' bullet header.

Although they competed well, Carlo Cudicini had just one save to make and that came when Colin Cryan found himself in space eight yards out but directed his header straight into the keeper's arms.

Centre-back Cryan admitted later he wished the golden chance had fallen to Quayle.

Seconds later came a crucial moment as Gallas handled the ball as he climbed for a header. But referee Barry Knight waved play on, believing the incident was unintentional.

Slade was pragmatic in his view. Although certain his side should have had a penalty, he was honest enough to admit Chelsea had wasted far more scoring opportunities even before Cryan had his chance.

"It was a cast-iron penalty, it was hand to ball," he said.

"We shouldn't forget that Chelsea had ample opportunities to put the game beyond us but at 1-0 you're looking for a chance and it fell to Colin Cryan, and we had what looked like a good penalty shout but it didn't happen for us.

"I thought Colin's header was in. He will be disappointed with himself. But we've done the town proud.

"This has been a day that will stay with them for life. They can be proud and walk around town with their heads held high."

Taking into account the huge difference between the clubs' bank accounts and league positions, Scarborough can boast a scoreline that few predicted and perhaps with a tinge of regret can look back on a couple of 'if only' moments.

They would have been fortunate to snatch a draw, but simply keeping the score down to 1-0 against Britain's most glamorous team was an achievement.

Quayle admitted: "During the week I said to a friend that we'd be happy to keep it down to 3-0."

With Chelsea still desperately trying to add to the score, the full-time whistle signalled the beginning of a celebration as We Are The Champions reverberated around the ground.

Scarborough's players exchanged shirts with their heroes - Quayle swapping with Terry - and the PA man congratulated the Seasiders.

"Well done Boro," he beamed. Well said.