Enfield Town boss Bradley Quinton admitted his side’s 1-1 draw at Eastbourne Borough in the FA Cup on Saturday felt like a loss after the Towners came close to causing an upset.

Enfield went into the second qualifying round clash against the Conference South opponents as big underdogs but produced an excellent showing as they took the lead. But a missed penalty proved costly as the hosts equalised to force a replay tonight.

Quinton, whose side will travel to either Romford or Kingstonian if they get through, said: “In a way it feels like a loss. We played really well and full credit to the lads. But we missed a penalty and straight away Eastbourne went up the other end and scored themselves.

“We just feel gutted with how the result was in the end. It just feels like a defeat after how well we’ve played because not many people would have given us a chance going into the tie.”

Enfield came out with real purpose and Neil Cousins, on his return from injury, had an early chance but home keeper Lewis Carey kept him at bay.

The Towners showed no nerves and opened the scoring deservedly in the 53rd minute. Michael Kalu sent in a cross which was headed home by Cousins.

Quinton said: “I was really pleased with Neil Cousins after coming back from injury. I know what he can do and he’s a real asset for the club. He’s been out with a calf and Achilles injury but seemed fine during the game.”

Enfield had a golden opportunity to double the lead when Corey Whitley was brought down in the area by Ian Simpemba. The visitors were surprised to see Simpemba stay on the pitch and their frustration was compounded when Whitley’s spot-kick was kept out by the excellent Carey.

This proved to be the turning point as Eastbourne were understandably lifted and awarded a penalty themselves after Darren Lok was brought down by Stephan Hamilton-Forbes. The home side took full advantage of this as teenage substitute Ryan Worrall fired home the equaliser.

Phil Kane came off the bench and almost grabbed a winner for the Towners but his header was cleared off the line.

Quinton said: “All the way through the team there were very good performances so I couldn’t single anyone out.

“The performance was on a par with the win at Hendon in my first game in charge. It’s down to them to play like that all the time. When we put in the work rate then our ability shines through and it just shows what we’re capable of.”

Enfield return to action in the Ryman Premier Division this weekend when they entertain high-flying Grays Athletic.

Quinton said: “Grays have done well this season but we’re not worried about our opponents. We know that if we put in the work rate then we can cause most teams problems.

“I feel we are in a false position in the league and the lads are buzzing at the moment after the way we played on Saturday.”