DANNY Bowers rated Saturday’s 1-0 FA Cup win at Longwell Green Sports as “one of our best since I’ve been at the club”.

It wasn’t so much the quality of the football that pleased the boss as the battling spirit and team ethic that has been rewarded with a home tie against Frome Town in the second qualifying round on Saturday week (September 27).

Mike “twinkle toes” Turvey scored the only goal of the game after 15 minutes courtesy of some individual brilliance. Picking the ball up just inside the hosts’ half, he weaved past two defenders before finding the top corner from 20 yards.

Turvey almost scored again straight from the re-start, intercepting a pass from ’keeper to full-back and seeing his lob rebound off the post into the arms of the ’keeper.

Jamie Barron shot just wide and both Ashley Jarvis and Ryan Long hit the woodwork in the first half.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic, however, with even Bowers admitting Longwell were unlucky to have an early goal ruled out for offside and to be denied a penalty when Follands centre-half Matt Burt appeared to push the centre-forward.

Planemakers ’keeper Ryan Gosney kept his wits about him in a scrappy second half which erupted with 15 minutes to go when Follands’ Jake Long was sent off after an altercation with a Longwell opponent, who was also red-carded.

Nothing, though, could dent Bowers’ pride in his team. “It was unbelievable,” he said. “It was like playing in The Land of the Giants. Longwell should have been a basketball team!

“But our lads were magnificent. Our back four was outstanding and Matty Graham superb at left-back.

“Our lads ran through brick walls. They came off looking like they’d done 20 rounds with Mike Tyson.”