A stunned Southampton Rangers yesterday suffered the indignity of being stretched to a replay by commercial outfit MR Onions after a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup second round.

However, the hosts will hardly moan about having to take on their worthy opponents again as those who witnessed the Southampton Oval clash would agree Rangers were extremely fortunate to escape with a share of the honours.

Rangers manager Troy Lowe was among those disgusted with his players? depressing and lethargic showing and off-mark shooting.

?Oh yes, we are very lucky. MR Onions should have put us away. We had enough chances ourselves but the guys in front of goal needed to be thinking and that didn?t happen today,? he declared angrily.

Hardly looking the part of a Premier Division club, Rangers were run ragged by their lively guests who ? free in the knowledge that they were clearly the underdogs ? set about a generally well-executed plan of possession football.

MR Onions could not have desired a better start as they went a goal up in just the third minute when Nick Briggs put through Irishman Eoghan O?Dwyer who beat veteran custodian Dwayne (Streaker) Adams.

However, the celebrations were short-lived as skipper Kamen Tucker brought Rangers back on level terms in the 14th minute.

On reflection, the latter might blame himself for his team?s inability to kill off Onions as he opted to let Omari Hart ? just back from injury ? take a 30th-minute penalty earned by his cousin, striker Janeiro Tucker.

Hart?s effort sailed over the crossbar and somehow one suspected that was an ominous sign of things to come.

Midway through the second half, Adams had to leave the game when he rushed forward to thwart a dangerous build-up and was struck full in his face by the ball.

Gerald Simons, who has warmed the bench for much of this season, was suddenly thrust into the fray as his replacement and he ? well supported by defender Pernell Brangman ? performed admirably amid a barrage of shots from Onions who, by then, were fancying an upset victory.

In the dying minutes of the second half, Rangers frontman Devone Bailey produced the game?s most astonishing gaffe, squandering a golden opportunity to steal the glory for his team.

Fed a ball down the right wing, he propelled towards goal with only the keeper at his mercy. His low, hard drive was deflected but fell kindly for the striker on the rebound but, with open bars for him to coolly slot the ball into, he went for a spectacular, right-footed blast which skewed past the right post.

The entire Rangers bench jumped in anticipation of a match-winning goal only to be left in disbelief and disappointment. Onions breathed a sigh of relief and continued their charmed fight to the death including two extra-time periods in which they tested Simons repeatedly.

?We?re over the moon. I think we gave them a good game and we could have nicked it at the end. We were missing one or two players in central midfield,? said thrilled MR Onions captain Steven Smith.

?One guy went back home for Christmas and the other one?s grandmother died yesterday (Saturday) so he got on the BA flight last night. We were also missing our ?keeper.

?The guys who came in were absolutely superb.?

Still, he remained conservative as he talked about the replay.

?We?re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We gave this everything we?ve got and they are in the Premier league so they are way above us. But we will go out there and give it our best again in the replay.?

Lowe did not spare his team his wrath, noting Rangers ?missed so many simple, open chances?.

?Guys just didn?t come prepared. They took MR Onions too lightly and MR Onions ran at us. We took them for granted.

?We need to get together and go back to the basics if not, these guys can come at us again.?