THE most memorable save of my career so far.

That was how Blues goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall recalled his breathtaking stop from Franco Di Santo in the dying seconds at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Just seconds after Peter Clarke had nodded the Shrimpers back level, Mildenhall superbly palmed away a close range header from the substitute striker.

And he believes it is up there with the best saves he has ever made.

“The older you get you tend to forget certain things you’ve done but that’s definitely up there with my best ever saves,” said Mildenhall.

“Coming at a place like Chelsea would I guess make it the most memorable and I was very pleased with it.

“The ball bounced just in front of me which made it harder to save but thankfully I managed to keep it out because it would have been a real sickener otherwise.”

But not everyone was pleased by his stunning late stop which took the tie to a Roots Hall replay a week on Wednesday.

“It did make me smile because one of the fans behind the goal just shouted why did you have to go and do that,” revealed Mildenhall.

“So to him I would like to apologise but I’m afraid I was just doing my job.”

Mildenhall impressed all afternoon against the Londoners and also did well to deny Ashley Cole during the first half.

The summer signing from Yeovil Town commanded his penalty area by punching clear a number of corners and was delighted by the final outcome.

“It’s just a great buzz to come here and get a draw like we have done,” said Mildenhall.

“We had character, belief and some great support and that’s the beauty of the FA Cup.”

Mildenhall’s display continued his excellent form in this season’s competition as he was also man of the match in the first round replay at home to AFC Telford.

He produced his latest starring role despite being troubled by a slight groin problem.

And he now hopes to be coming up against more of the country’s top teams “We’ve got the replay first which hopefully one of the TV channels will put on live to make the club even more money,” he said.

“But I want to keep on playing for another eight or nine years and, after getting a taste of things, you certainly do want more.”