Binfield manager Roger Herridge admitted his side don’t do things the easy way after their battling 2-1 FA Cup win over Brockenhurst on Saturday, writes Dave Wright.

Jemel Johnson and Ian Davies, from the penalty spot, put the Moles in control of this preliminary-round tie, but they then conceded a soft penalty to allow the visitors to get back in the game.

And they came under late pressure despite the Badgers finishing with 10 men following a straight red card.

“We deserved to win, but we gave ourselves a few anxious moments in the last 10 or 15 minutes and that did not do much for my hairline or my heartbeat,” he admitted.

“We created a lot of chances and it should have been a 3-1 or 4-1 victory, so if they had nicked an equaliser at the end, we would only have had ourselves to blame. They had hardly been in the game until late on.”

The first half was played at a frenetic pace at times, with both sides attacking mainly down their left flanks.

Binfield’s Carlo Santoro looked particularly dangerous, having the speed to take on the Brockenhurst defence, but the Wessex League side were quick to get men behind the ball.

However, you could not argue with Herridge’s comment – “We did enough in the first half to be ahead at half-time.”

He added: “They (Brockenhurst) did offer a bit of a threat going forward, certainly in wide areas, but their play was a little bit predictable at times.

“I told the lads at half-time they just had to keep what they were doing, but needed to show a bit more composure in the final third and make better decisions.”

And his side did just that in the 53rd minute when, following a good ball from Santoro, Johnson drove in from the right side and unleashed a low shot into the far corner.

Substitute Josh Helmore, who has joined the Moles on a dual registration with Bracknell, missed a similar chance, this time coming in from the left flank, and then fellow replacement, Sean Moore, put Davies through, but the chance went begging.

But in the 78th minute, Davies looked certain to score when brought down by keeper Matt Taylor and he picked himself up to fire home the spot kick.

Six minutes later, Binfield conceded a penalty themselves for an infringement on the edge of the area – skipper James Knight being yellow carded – and Will Tickle made no mistake to get the Badgers back in the game.

With Brockenhurst throwing more men forward, the home defence came under pressure, but keeper Chris Grace never looked like being beaten.

“Since coming here, Chris has given us a massive boost,” continued Herridge.

“He has a calming presence. He has that speed of thought to come off his line to deal with any danger. His handling was sound and his kicking was good.”

It is the first time in five years the club have reached the first qualifying round.