TIVIDALE boss Ian Long was left to rue a late penalty decision that handed Leek Town a replay from their FA clash at The Beeches.

Tivi were just over ten minutes away from earning a lucrative tie against Boston in the next round when the referee awarded Leek a penalty for handball against Danny Ashton.

The decision left Long furious as the game finished 2-2.

He said: "There were three or four scandalous decisions. How the referee thought that was handball I'll never know.

"The defender was just a few yards away when the ball was hit against his hand. There was no way he could have got out of the way or that it was handled deliberately.

"Now, instead of looking forward to a good game against Boston and taking on Kidsgrove in the league, we have to contend with a replay at their place.

"All we can do now is use it as motivation."

The clash between the two Northern Premier League Division One South sides proved to be a close encounter.

Jazz Luckie, Karl Edwards, Lewis Taylor-Boyce and Danny Ashton all came in for Nigel Penney and Ryan Winwood, who started on the bench, the cup-tied Ben Hadley and the ill Andy Parsons.

The home side trailed at half time to a Andy Kinsey’s deflected effort but came back strong in the second period.

Tividale were awarded a penalty when Luckie was adjudged to have been brought down as he ran across Leek defender Darren Chadwick. Zac Foster converted from the spot to draw the teams level.

On 58 minutes, Tividale took the lead after a shot from Taylor-Boyce was beaten out before Mitch Botfield fired home the rebound.

Tivi were then well on top until Leek were handed a chance to bag a replay due the controversial penalty call.

Leek's Johnson converted from the spot as the game finished all square.

Tivi were due to travel to Leek for the replay tonight. The team were set to be well supported after the club put on a coach for fans wanting to go to the fixture.

Long's men will then welcome second-placed Loughborough to The Beeches this Saturday.

A win would fire Tivi back up towards the top of the table and cement their impressive start to the campaign.

"We have a tough month ahead but I know we have the squad to cope," added Long. "I trust any of the players who come in. They are at the club because we believe in them and know what they are capable of. We now want to keep building on how we have started.

"I would like to thank the fans that have turned out to support us recently. The extra attendances are showing how we are progressing."