BRACKNELL Town player-manager Carl Davies said he was proud of his side after they had held Bognor Regis to a 2-2 draw in their FA Trophy, writes Dave Wright.

But he admitted his players were left bitterly disappointed over failing to knock the Rocks out in their first qualifying round tie at Larges Lane on Saturday.

Cracking goals from Liam Ferdinand and Jamie McClurg either side of a James Muitt equaliser left the Robins in front going into added on time at the end of a thrilling tie.

They were unable to hold on, however, with the seasiders grabbing the equaliser with a minute remaining.

“It was a real sickener,” said Davies. “We probably deserved more than a draw.”

He added: “They (Bognor) were a very good side, but I thought we were well organised in the second half, limiting their chances.

“We are disappointed to draw with a team from a division above us and that says a lot about where we are. We have shown that we are capable of competing with a very good team.

“Credit to them, they had a lot of possession and kept going to the end and got the goal.

“The ball came off his (Brad Lethbridge) knee and dropped into his path. It was a fantastic strike. But it left us bitter coming so late in the game.

“To draw in the last minute is disappointing, and you can only be hurt by that.”

It looked like McClurg’s goal just before half-time would prove the winner – and it was a goal to grace any game and one the midfielder will be telling his children about for a long time.

Davies commented: “It was a great volley. He had an easier chance against Egham last Tuesday and blasted it over the bar. This was much harder and he put it away superbly.”

Town’s player-manager admitted both sides had chances to add to their goal tally and hailed the performances of the two goalkeepers, Mark Scott and Bognor’s Dan Lincoln.

He said: “Their man made an unbelievable save from Ferdinand in the second half, but equally, Scotty made a couple of very good saves for us, so it was a game that could have gone either way. But I still don’t think a draw was a fair result, we deserved to win.”

Lincoln felt both sides had squandered chances, saying: “You expect players to put the ball into the net from six or seven yards. If you look at the chances, it could have been more than 2-2. We missed some, but a draw was probably a fair result.

“At the end of the day, in cup competitions, it doesn’t matter how you play, though you want to play well, it is just about the result.”

The replay took place at Bognor last night (Tuesday) with the winners having an away second qualifying round tie on November 17 at Walton Casuals, who are currently 13th in the Southern League Premier South.

They beat Bracknell’s league rivals Molesey 1-0 in Saturday’s first qualifying round,

There was a surprise for Bognor fans when they turned up at Larges Lane as manager Jack Pearce was heading out, apparently to watch another game so he could see a potential new signing.

His No 2 Robbie Blake, the former Football League player and Portsmouth coach, took charge of the side.

He said: “I thought we were the better team in the first even though we were poor at times. We had five clear-cut chances in the first half and hit the bar twice. They had two chances and scored two.”