Thamesmead Town boss Tommy Warrilow was left frustrated and a touch relieved after his sides FA Cup draw in the Channel Islands first ever FA Cup tie on Saturday.

With the famous old trophy glistening in the Guernsey sunshine, Mead striker Paul Vines earned a place in the record books by scoring the first FA Cup goal in the Channel Islands with a 15th minute penalty after Cristian Nanetti was fouled.  The visitors lead was doubled five minutes later when Vines’s header rebounded off the bar and Jack Mahoney following up headed home.

The home side upped their game after the break and two goals from Dave Rihoy levelled the scores before with one of the last kicks of the game, Nanetti saw his shot hit the inside of the right post before rebounding to safety meaning the two sides must meet again at Bayliss Avenue on Tuesday night.

Warrilow said, “I’m annoyed and frustrated that we weren’t able to finish the game off in the first half on Saturday.  We started excellently and created enough chances to be more in front at the break than we were.  On the other hand after the second half performance that our hosts put in I’m sure that their boss feels the same as they applied the pressure.  But I always knew that the third goal would be crucial and sadly we didn’t get it – any manager will tell you how important it is but after sustained pressure Guernsey got back into the game.   The bottom line is that after reflecting on the game on the flight home a draw was probably a fair result