Somerset Eagles 3

Butterfield & Vallis 3

Butterfield & Vallis United earned an impressive draw at Somerset Eagles in the FA Cup preliminary round at White Hill Field yesterday.

The Corona League side were clearly the underdogs against their First Division rivals but showed they were not to be taken lightly and deservedly earned a replay.

Eagles opened the scoring in the fifteenth minute when Cardell Henry floated a perfect cross from deep on the left flank.

His pass found Nathan Rego coming in from the right who was left unmarked. Rego controlled the pass and squeezed off his shot into the net.

Undeterred, B&V United came back into tie through a strike from Dennis Russell after Daishon Chin, the Eagles goalkeeper, parried a shot from Milton Correria in the 33rd minute.

In the 36th minute, Eagles Richard Quinn had to be taken to hospital to receive stitches after suffering a nasty gash on the top of his head from an errant elbow.

After the break, both teams went about their task with a renewed commitment and sense of urgency.

B&V United notched their second goal in the 65th minute when Leshun Dill headed down a pass that Eugene Calder pounced on to tap in from two yards.

Not to be outdone, Eagles came flying back with a strike of their own in the 73rd minute to tie the score. Anwar Telford intercepted a ball deep into the B&V United half, advanced and fired a shot that sailed over the head of goalkeeper Ryan Evans.

Eagles then scored again in the 80th minute through a header by Khino Harrison. B&V United drew level, though, in the 84th minute when Leshun Dill skilfully rounded an Eagles defender to squeeze of his shot from a sharp angle.

“Hopefully, in the replay we can capitalise better on our chances,” Roger Lee, the Eagles coach, said.