Player boss Neal Bishop replaced the injured Hayden Cann, who picked up a knock in the closing stages of the midweek victory. Masai Aroubin and Ethan Cowan came into the squad, as they were named on the bench. Attacking into a strong head wind in the first half, Neal Bishop and Alex Marshall were locked in an ongoing battle from the first whistle, with both players competing fiercely. An interesting side plot throughout the first period as the opening exchanges started fairly evenly. Jack Rogers having the first sight of goal, but Matt Yates' net wasn't troubled as Rogers let fly from 30 yards.

The best opportunity for Trinity came on the half hour, Clayton Donaldson was gifted an opportunity following a horrendous back pass by Kieran Walker. Donaldson's attempted chip catching on the wind and drifting harmlessly wide when the striker would have wanted to have done better. Birthday boy, Andrew Wright popped up on the right and looked to send over a dangerous cross, but it was a fraction too high for Durose arriving at the back post

Four minutes before the break, Long Eaton took the lead, Orlando-Young scuffed an effort goalwards - and Alex Marshall diverted his hooked effort past Yates from close range. Just before the break, Bishop was again very much involved. Durose's corner caused havoc in the home defence, the clearance finding it's way to the boss, but his effort was blocked on the line. As the home side looked to counter - Bish was adjudged to have halted the counter illegally, and as the misdemeanors had totted up, referee Majid Ali reached for his pocket and cautioned the player/ boss.

Half time: Long Eaton United 1 Gainsborough Trinity 0

Trinity made a double change at the break as Bishop and Dyche were withdrawn. Tom Cursons and Iren Wilson entering the fray from the start of the half, the Holy Blues shuffling the pack. Looking to get back into the game quickly, the hosts took the sting out of the game at the beginning of the second period. Slowing down the restarts, this added much to the visitors' frustration.

Trinity struggled to sustain any real pressure with set pieces of our own, while Yates had to be dominant - and was - on a number of occasions, punching clear from Keiran Walker's long throws - and corners from the left and right flanks. With the visitors chasing, Long Eaton looked to exploit the spaces left behind, and Trinity at times lived dangerously on the turnover. Joe West and Brad Wilson were becoming embroiled in an ongoing battle of wills down the Gainsborough left. West doing well to win a corner, that was headed away. Bojang saw his resulting shot on target held at the second attempt by Sam Wilson.

Goalkeeper, Wilson was starting to see more of the ball as the greys pressed He punched away well from under his own bar, but was awarded a free kick for his troubles. United substitute, Kameron Campbell chested the ball down brilliantly for the supporting Reco Fyfe. He drew the foul from Rice - and the Trinity centre back saw yellow as Fyfe's tumble came to a halt several yards inside the Trinity box. Ultimately nothing coming from the free kick in a dangerous position for the hosts.

West and Donaldson were on the recievjng end of robust challenges in the space of a matter of seconds. Brad Wilson for his foul on Donaldson penalised with a yellow, while Fyfe's tackle left West in more discomfort. Now Trinity were starting to find some rhythm. Donaldson was becoming more involved, but still Long Eaton looked to hurt Trinity on the counter. Bojang picking up a yellow for a shirt pull on Fyfe, on halfway.

Nine minutes from time, Donaldson timed his run down the left - and his ball into the danger-zone was kindly diverted by a blue and black shirt into the path of substitute Cursons, who gleefully smashed home from close range to level the tie. The equaliser instantly lifted Trinity's spirits. Bojang drove forward from midfield, rode a couple of challenges and slid in Donaldson. His effort skewed off target, but the flag was up in any case!

Trinity were now chasing a winner and stepped up a couple of gears, goal scorer Cursons looked for Iren Wilson in an attempted re-make of their combination play, but Sam Wilson intervened. Then, as the game entered stoppage time. Long Eaton won a free-kick on halfway, looking to take the set piece quickly, the restart was charged down - the ball falling kindly for Cursons, who needed no second invitation to raid down the right. The flag stayed down and the youngster raced into the box. With the angle decreasing and with options to his left, the forward was caught in two minds and neither finished with confidence, or squared with purpose.. and despite picking out Donaldson at the second attempt, leaning back, the former York City marksman failed to hit the target - and the chance to settle the game slipped through the fingers of the visiting Blues.

And so setting up a replay on Tuesday evening (September 20th 2022) in a game that will be played to a conclusion, whether that be 90 minutes, extra time, or penalties. We hope to see as many of you as possible on the Northolme, pushing us through into the next round of the world famous FA Cup competition. The draw for the Third Qualifying Round is on Tuesday, at 1pm, so both sides will know the third qualifying round reward prior to kick off.

The Teams

Long Eaton United: Sam Wilson, Brad Wilson, Jamie Walker, Jamie McGuire (Jermaine Hollis 64), Romaine Graham, Keiran Walker, Rod Orlando-Young, Danny Gordon, Alex Marshall (Kameron Campbell 64), Reco Fyfe, Jack Rogers (Micah Jebbison 79). Subs not used: Sam Parkin, James Taylor, Tom Marshall, Ben Hutchinson

Gainsborough Trinity: Matt Yates, George Hornshaw, Joseph West, Isaac Rice, Neal Bishop (Tom Cursons 46), Dylan Cogill, Curtis Durose, Andrew Wright (Ethan Bojang 59), Clayton Donaldson, Liam Waldock, Jack Dyche (Iren Wilson 46). Subs not used: Ethan Cowan, Mo Gashi, Masai Arbouin

Eaton Booking: Brad Wilson
Eaton Goal: Alex Marshall (41)
Gainsborough Bookings: Neal Bishop, Isaac Rice and Ethan Bojang
Gainsborough Goal: Tom Cursons (81)
Referee: Majid Ali
Attendance: 414

Match report written by Rob Hughes (@AAATM_Media)
Photos by Russell Dickens (@bozola900)