BOSS Matty Holmes admitted he had been relieved to see Wimborne earn a second crack at Alresford after the Sydenhams Wessex Premier outfit had given them a scare at Cuthbury.

Wimborne paid for failing to add to Toby Holmes’s finely-taken 13th-minute strike as Alresford forced an FA Cup preliminary round replay thanks to Babs Bojang’s late equaliser.

Manager Holmes felt the visitors had been worthy of a draw and will take his men to Arlebury Park on Wednesday – the venue where Wimborne won promotion to the Southern League in 2010.

“It was frustrating,” said Holmes. “The conditions were a real thorn in our side and we couldn’t play how we had wanted to due to the wind. But both teams had to get on with it.

“We created a lot of chances in the first half but didn’t see off the game. At 1-0, it was one of those situations where we knew that if we didn’t get a second goal, we could be in trouble.

“They had great spirit, as we knew they would. They wanted it more in the second half. They battled harder than we did and got a deserved equaliser.

“I was happy with a 1-1 draw in the end. We live to fight another day and have a chance to have another go at them on Wednesday.

“The boys were very disappointed but we told them to learn from it. We will be looking for a firm reaction when we go there for the replay.”

Wimborne, currently fourth in Division One South & West following three wins in their first four games, had done their homework on Alresford having watched them triumph 1-0 at Whitchurch in midweek.

Holmes added: “We expected a hard game and we got one. We knew they would press us high. They were quite combative and very vocal from the sidelines. They did everything they could to try to win the game, which was fair play to them.

“The wind made it difficult for us and they won a lot of knockdowns and put us under pressure in the second half.

“It wasn’t a good second-half performance and the boys knew that. But they have been great all season so far so we will fight on and learn from it.”

The winners of Wednesday's replay will earn £1,925 in prize money and host either Verwood or Fareham in the first qualifying round on September 3.

Wimborne: O’Flaherty, Maybury, Hartley, Arnold, S Davidson, Kellaway, Stokoe, L Holmes, T Holmes, O’Sullivan, Bayston. Unused subs: O’Hare, J Davidson, Johnson, White, Benfield (g/k).