CHIPPENHAM Town manager Mark Collier says his side are “lucky to still be in the FA Trophy” after a 1-1 draw at home to Wingate & Finchley on Saturday.

Nat Jarvis opened the scoring for the Bluebirds after only five minutes at Hardenhuish Park, but Wingate hit back in the second half thanks to a goal from Charlie Cole.

The two sides will now head back to the Harry Abrahams Stadium in north London for a replay on Tuesday night to determine which team progresses into the first round proper and Collier says his side will have to massively improve if they are to come away with the win.

“We were poor. By the standards we’ve set in the last few weeks, we dropped below that,” said Collier.

“We had eight or nine players that did not perform to the level we expect, and if you do that, you’re not going to win many football matches, whoever you play.

“The players are disappointed and I’m disappointed. We certainly didn’t help our cause by being sloppy in and out of possession, so it’s a poor day at the office for us.

“We didn’t start the game well and once you don’t start well, it’s difficult to pick it up. I know we scored the goal, but even after we scored, we weren’t playing particularly well.

“Too many people under-performed. No reasons for it, no excuses, but we are lucky to still be in the cup.”

Collier was full of admiration for the Bluebirds’ Isthmian Premier opponents and the way they set up to achieve a result, but said his own side must learn to be more patient in attack if they are to advance on Tuesday night.

“They changed their shape a little bit and changed their system around and played two up front, which did surprise us,” said Collier.

“Once we scored, they sat in and defended resolutely and attacked us on the counter.

“Then, once they got their goal, they sat in again and continued to attack on the counter and we lacked the nous to break them down.

“We went too direct too quickly and their defenders dealt with it.

“We’re disappointed with our performance but it’s not the end of the world, we haven’t lost the game.

“We’ve underperformed, and we’re disappointed, but we’ve got to go again on Tuesday.”