Cowan seeks another big showing as Brackley host Hartlepool in FA Cup replay

The Saints came agonisingly close to booking their place in the first round proper as they took the lead in the away game at Hartlepool on Saturday.

But the home side equalised in the 85th minute to force a midweek replay at St James Park.

Cowan expects Hartlepool to up their performance levels but he feels his players are capable of completing the job on Tuesday night.

"They (Hartlepool) are an excellent side and they will come good, I'm sure," said the Brackley boss.

"They've got all the makings of a team that will do well, but hopefully only after they've played us.

"We just feel we had the better of the day and we should be talking about being in the next round.

"We're disappointed because we felt like we handed it to them for 20 minutes and we also feel some of it was taken out of our control.

"But when you come to Hartlepool and get a 1-1, the lads deserve a whole lot of credit.

"There was a lot of hard work, desire and I'm sure the travelling fans will be proud.

"I want to thank the fans for making the journey and hopefully we can put in another brilliant performance on Tuesday."

George Carline had put Brackley ahead 12 minutes before the break and they had chances to extend their lead.

But they were eventually pegged back by Hartlepool, who play one level higher in the National League.

"I'm really pleased with the lads and their performance," Cowan said.

"You can't ask any more when you come to a team way up north in the FA Cup, a league higher.

"We were confident going into the game and I felt like we were the better team for large parts of it.

"First half, I felt like we should have been out of sight really.

"The game strategy worked really well and I'm disappointed to come away with a 1-1 to be honest.

"It was just a little bit of focus, concentration and maybe a bit of professionalism because in those moments we've got to concentrate and finish.

"We've gone to Southport, totally dominated the game and drawn 0-0 and then we've come here and in for a large part we didn't feel like we were being hurt.

"I can't take away the effort of my players because for the large part they did everything I asked of them.”