SLOUGH Town kept their FA Cup dream alive on Saturday after a galiant 0-0 draw at Mansfield Town.

Rebels withstood constant pressure in the second half to bring Mansfield back to Holloways Park for a mouth-watering first round replay on Tuesday, November 13.

Slough supremo Steve Bateman, an FA Youth Cup winner as a player with Everton, hailed his defence after the goalless draw at One Call Stadium.

He said: "Mansfield had a lot of the ball for a large amount of the time but we were never out of the game.

"We defended like we know we can, the back four were outstanding. They got at us and were direct but we coped with it well.

"Mansfield controlled a lot of possession but their keeper pulled off worldly save to deny Ed Smith in the first half."

Bateman continued: "We set ourselves up to be hard to beat and that is what we were.

"It is a fantastic result and I know a lot of our people enjoyed themselves.

"We have got the replay to look forward to now. We are at home and it will be a special day for the football club."

Referee Jumpei Lida, a FIFA-listed official from the Japanese J-League, was called into action early to correctly wave away Mansfield appeals for handball against Alex Brown.

Slough were often guilty of losing possession and inviting pressure and Stags' best chance to brake the deadlock came when goalkeeper James Warrington suffered a rush of blood to the head.

Misjudging a long Louis Briscoe pass, Warrington rushed out of his area and was beaten to the ball by Matt Green close to the corner flag.

Green cross picked out Lindon Meikle but the midfielder's goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Nathan Bowden-Haase.

Warrington made up for his error with a smart stop to deny Anthony Howell, who sliced a second effort wide moments later.

A rare Rebels attack saw Bowden-Haase head Stuart Swift's free-kick across goal while Smith was unfortunate not to put the visitors ahead.

The summer signing beat Mansfield defenders Exodus Geohaghon and John Dempster but his shot, destined for the top corner, was saved superbly by Shane Redmond.

Slough spent the majority of the second half on the back as Mansfield launched countless attacks, Briscoe combining well with Ben Hutchinson for the latter to fire wide.

Stags almost went ahead on the hour mark when Meikle headed Chris Clements cross against the crossbar, Rebels full-back Dominic Rhone cleared off the line and Green inexplicably fired over from inside the six-yard box.

The visitors were almost gifted the lead against the run of play when a mix-up in the Mansfield defence saw Redmond clear just before Smith could poke the ball toward goal.

Mansfield continued to push forward with more than a hint of desperation but Slough's defence dealt superbly with a series of corners and crosses.

Should the Rebels complete a shock upset their fairytale cup run will continue with a trip to either Lincoln City or Walsall in the second round next month.

Lincoln, of the Blue Square Bet Premier, held League One club Walsall to a 1-1 draw at the Imp Sincil Bank Stadium last weekend.

Slough return to Southern Division One Central action on Tuesday with a visit from Rugby Town (7:45pm).

Bateman's men will also host Ashford Town (Middx) this Saturday (3pm) before the first round replay against Mansfield.

Slough: Warrington, Fraser, Rhone, Brown, Bowden-Haase, Woozley (c), Burgess, D Deeney, Burnell (Sonner), Smith and Swift (Logie). Subs not used: Murphy, A Deeney, Hawtree, Sinclair and Perkins. Booked: Brown and Burgess. Att: 1,686 (255 Slough).