ROGER Herridge heaped praise on his Binfield side after they had overcome a number of set-backs to hold Deal Town to a 1-1 draw in their FA Vase fourth-round tie, writes Dave Wright.

"A lot of sides would have buckled, but this performance shows what we are made of. The boys showed a lot of determination. They would just not be beaten and I could not have been more proud of them," said the Moles manager, who is now looking forward to the replay at Hill Farm Lane this Saturday (3pm).

He was forced to make a late change when skipper Sean Moore's ankle swelled up during the warm-up. He was replaced in the attack by Jemel Johnson with Josh Howell taking over the captaincy, and both had chances to give their side the lead.

But Binfield suffered a major blow when experienced midfielder Tom Melledew was sent off in the 50th minute after being shown a second yellow card.

The 10 men battled hard, but they then went a goal behind when Calam Gallimore brought down Ben Chapman to concede a penalty, which Macauley Murray smashed low past keeper Chris Grace.

As the clocked ticked down, it was beginning to look as though Binfield's Vase hopes were about to be blown away on a wind-swept afternoon in Kent.

"'We missed a couple of chances and, with things going against us, I was beginning to think it wasn't going to be our day," Herridge commented.

But that changed in the 84th minute. Throw-in specialist Gallimore launched a long, high ball into the Deal goalmouth. Keeper James Tonkin punched it away, but the Moles managed to get the ball back into the area, where Josh Helmore swivelled and lashed the ball into the net on the turn.

Soon afterwards, Helmore limped off and, like Moore, will face a fitness test before Saturday's replay. The suspended Melledew will also miss out.

Binfield had a scare late in extra time when Deal's Josh Maughan found himself in the clear, but he was denied by the legs of Grace.

More than 500 packed the Deal ground, and Binfield are hoping to attract a big crowd themselves.

The winners will face a long trek to Northern League Division One side Consett AFC in the fifth round on February 8.