St Albans City’s manager Ian Allinson is preparing for another tough game when Whitehawk come to Clarence Park for a FA Trophy third round qualifying replay.

Saints were due to be playing Margate in the Vanarama National League South tomorrow (Tuesday) but will now face the Brighton-based side again after the teams drew 1-1 on Saturday at The Enclosed Ground; Wilfred Tagbo cancelling out a Louie Theophanous stunner in the 90th minute.

And while the City boss believes his side should have seen the game off earlier, he is under no illusion that the replay will be just as tight.

He said: “A 1-0 lead is never enough and you’re always susceptible to a half chance, which is similar to what happened.

“We needed a second goal to see the game out but overall I was pleased with the performance.

“In the first half we had a couple of good opportunities. We had two one-on-ones in the first 20 minutes; both times the keeper has made saves. We’ve had two cleared off the line and hit the crossbar from a corner.

“Defensively we looked good today. Yes, they put us under pressure from a succession of corners but I thought the two centre-halves dealt with that.

“I would have taken a draw beforehand and knowing that Margate have drawn with East Thurrock, I’d rather have a game on Tuesday than concentrate on training.

“Whether it’s Margate on Tuesday or Whitehawk, we’ve got to pick ourselves up. We’ve got home advantage but we know what Whitehawk will bring and it’s going to be tough. They’re going to have chances like we will but if we want to go through, we’ve got to finish the game.

“We’ve earned a lot of respect from teams in our league because of the goals we’ve scored. But teams are not going to lie down against us and let us score goals for fun. They’re going to fight like Whitehawk did.”