Flood to the rescue for Basingstoke

Chris Flood earned Conference South side Basingstoke an FA Cup first-round replay after his second-half equaliser secured a 1-1 home draw against Conference Premier opponents AFC Telford.Flood headed home from close range five minutes into the second half after Rod McDonald had got the Bucks off to a perfect start with the opening goal from a free-kick in the 18th minute.Just one place in the football pyramid separated the two teams and it was Conference South leaders Basingstoke who made a bright start with Louie Soares' pace causing plenty of problems.But the Bucks, bottom of the Conference Premier, worked their way back into the game and McDonald gave them the lead with a deflected free-kick.The hosts had a glorious opportunity to equalise soon after, but Shaun McAuley blazed over from close range after a brilliant ball by Tom Bird.Basingstoke made the perfect start to the second half though with Soares' corner from the right headed expertly home by Flood to draw the home side level.Telford looked to hit back immediately and Sean Cooke fired just over from a free-kick, but it was Basingstoke who threatened the winner with Bird's shot from outside the box just going wide.