MANAGER Louis Langdown heaped praise on Birmingham City loanee Ben McLean after yesterday's 1-1 FA Trophy preliminary round draw at home to North Leigh.

It was a disappointing result considering the number of chances the Stags created, but Totton’s goal – which stemmed from a nine-pass move – and 18-year-old McLean’s mature performance were notable high points.

“Ben set the goal up and had one saved off the line. His all-round performance was excellent,” said Langdown.

“It’s taken him three games to get to grips with this level and we told him he needed to demand the ball. He did that on Saturday and we saw what a good player he could be.”

It was from McLean’s cut-back that veteran marksman Justin Bennett fired Totton into a seventh-minute lead - and how they didn’t build on it, Langdown will never know!

Stuart Green struck the bar with an overhead kick and both McLean and Charlie Gunson went agonisingly close before Henry Landers punished them with a 47th-minute leveller to set up a replay in Oxfordshire on Tuesday (7.45pm).

“They had one shot, when we gave them possession, and they scored from it,” sighed Langdown.

“It’s disappointing because it could have been a landslide win for us.

"But everyone wants to talk about the missed chances and people shouldn’t forget that we scored a quality team goal.”

Green is unlikely to make the trip to North Leigh as he is about to become a father.