Draw no more than we deserved says boss
Boss Paul Buckle thought Scott Rendell’s equaliser was no more than his side deserved as the Town fought back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Nuneaton Town in the FA Cup first round.
Rendell’s header six minutes from time got the Hatters’ name in the hat for Sunday’s second round draw when it seemed as though the visitors would hang on victory after their 20th-minute strike.
But the Town are made of stern stuff, and not to be outdone, their patience paid off when Rendell popped up to head his seventh goal of the season to ensure a replay at Liberty Way in 10 days time.
“It knew it would be tough, especially after the league game we had against them,” Buckle told Hatters Player afterwards. “Nuneaton took great confidence from that game.
“They were negative and sat back and in my opinion we thoroughly deserved to take them back to their place.
“It was obviously a worry to go a goal down but I was pleased with the players today because they remained patient. We didn’t panic and didn’t opt for the route one approach and I thought the fans understood that and stuck with us really well.
“We stuck at it and we got a draw. We’re in the hat and we’ll go there and try and finish it off.”
The Town dominated the tie for long spells but, much like the league meeting three weeks ago, Buckle’s side were frustrated by a wall of maroon shirts in their path.
“The problem when teams come here and sit in is that it gives our back players a lot of time on the ball,” Buckle continued. “We don’t like to thrash it forward, we want to play football. We did just that and stayed patient.
“I did feel as though we lacked a cutting edge, which is unlike us, but we probed and probed and probed.
“We got the equaliser – it was a great header, Scott’s a threat in the 18-yard box – and I think we deserve to be in the second round draw. If the game had lasted another 10 minutes I think we might have won it.”
The manager also confirmed afterwards that striker Jon Shaw was omitted from the line-up after feeling a groin strain in the warm-up. Buckle hopes the precautionary measure should see the striker fit for Tuesday’s trip to Hereford.