ROSS Jenkins was pleased to see his Oxford City side earn an Emirates FA Cup replay in what he described as one of the toughest games of the season so far.
The Hoops fell 2-0 behind at Vanarama National League North outfit Scarborough Athletic, and needed a stoppage time equaliser to come away with something in the fourth qualifying round tie.
Frank Mulhern and Dom Tear gave the Seadogs a two-goal lead, however Olly Sanderson pulled one back, before Canice Carroll headed home eight minutes into injury time.
The draw ensured both teams made it into the hat for the first round proper, something Jenkins said was the main objective before the game.
City’s head coach told the club’s YouTube channel: “A replay is something we knew would happen if we didn’t get a great result up here.
“I thought the first half was a real scrappy fight, that’s probably the best way to describe it.
“There was no real football being played from either side. They were very direct and very scrappy, and fought well to be fair.
“In the second half, we managed to get a little bit of momentum and get our foot on the ball.
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“This is a hard place to come. The fans are loud and give you some, and it had that FA Cup feel.
“It was really good to get something out of the game. We left it late, but the character of the boys is first class.
“I was disappointed to concede those soft goals in my opinion, but the main thing was to come up here and get something.
“We’ve got and that we’ll go back to Oxford, and have another game.”
Despite sitting in the tier above their hosts, Jenkins was impressed by the way Scarborough took the game to his side.
He said: “I thought they were a really good team and really hard to beat.
“They were probably the toughest team we’ve played this season on the road, in terms of physicality.
“Our boys got kicked around, I think Zac’s [McEachran] got kicked in both calves and Renny [Smith] got booted, but we kept going.”
Jenkins was also delighted with the away backing his side received, with 30 Hoops supporters making the long trip north.
“It would’ve hurt to send them back without something, but you can see at the end, the team working hard, and us scrapping and fighting,” said Jenkins.
“The fans deserve that, they’ve travelled that distance and want to see a fight and see us run.
“We did that, and it wasn’t the prettiest, but at least we can get back on the road knowing that we can have another go.
“It was a difficult place to come, but really good character from everyone.”
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