Boston 1 Haughmond 1 - Report and pictures

The Midland Premier side were the big underdogs against the National League North outfit at York Street, but were well worth the draw and denied what appeared a stonewall penalty.

Jan Yeomans opened the scoring in the 54th minute for the hosts but Ryan replied late on, tucking the ball in from a tight angle.

Then, in the dying moments, a Matt Fletcher free-kick seemed to be handled – but the referee opted not to give a spot-kick.

This is the furthest Haughmond have ever got in the competition and the draw means the sides will meet again tomorrow night at Shrewsbury Sports Village (kick-off 7.45pm).

The players set out for the clash at 9am on Saturday, taking a three-and-a-half hour journey to the former Football League club.

Around 80 Mond fans also made the long trip to Lincolnshire.

Boss Matt Burton had a full strength squad to select from with no current injuries or suspensions.

And his charges were greeted by a big reception from the travelling supporters, and opened the game quite brightly – taking advantage of a great surface to play some decent football.

Boston, who opted for a rather direct approach, applied a lot of pressure as the first period progressed and pushed the visitors deeper into their own half.

Haughmond were indebted to some great work by goalkeeper Sam Jones and the defence in front of him, who managed to compete aerially with Pilgrims target man Gregg Smith.

Despite the constant pressure from the home side, the scores were level at the break and the visitors would have felt the first part of the plan had been achieved.

No changes were made at the break and then Boston went ahead shortly into the second half.

Full-back Yeomans powerfully headed home after an inswinging corner – a lead they deserved with the amount of possession they had enjoyed up to that point.

Mond never panicked, though, and went on the offensive by introducing Ryan to partner Steve Hole up front.

Sam Phillips, who also came off the bench, started to create some attacking situations on the right-hand side – asking questions of the Pilgrims defence.

And the away side got a leveller in the 79th minute.

They won a corner and the ball was put over to the far post, where Carl Rogers brought it down and fed Ryan to put it through the legs of George Willis – sending the Haughmond faithful into delirium.

Mond kept bursting forward and were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area with just five minutes to go.

Matt Fletcher struck the ball towards goal, only for an outstretched arm from a defender in the wall to deflect the effort away.

That was the last telling effort before the final whistle, after which the Haughmond players went over to show appreciation to their fans, who sang throughout the match and helped make it a memorable occasion.

Burton said he was blown away by the efforts of his players and the supporters.

“Boston were very direct – they did not to try to play football at all, really,” he said.

“We went in at half-time in the game and felt we could get something from it.

“The barrage of corners from them ended up in them scoring, but I always thought if we got one or two chances we could get an equaliser – and we did just that. It was a great day.”