Silsden'S dream of a bumper FA Cup tie died amid a flurry of furious goalmouth action at Cougar Park on Wednesday night -- but hundreds of fans saw them put up an heroic performance.

On Saturday a late goal earned a replay against Barrow side Holker Old Boys as they secured a 2-2 draw and over 500 fans braved torrential rain to watch their quest for glory.

A plum home tie against Harrogate Town was waiting for the winners and Silsden were hoping to bring them to Keighley.

Two first half goals from the Old Boys put the home side under pressure, but Silsden launched wave after wave of attacks in a one-side second half.

Despite the pressure they slipped to a 2-1 defeat, but have the compensation of a home tie in the FA Vase. They will have to put the defeat behind them in time to take on Harrogate Railway, and hope to have another bumper crowd to back them up.

"The fans were absolutely fantastic and they certainly saw an eventful game, it was just a shame that we couldn't give them a victory to celebrate," said manager Andy Geary.

"Before the game we were quietly confident that we could do it, but a couple of defensive lapses in the first half let us down, it was very frustrating.

"Their first came from a free kick and we were asleep, they exposed us totally and their second goal came from a quick break. We were attacking at the top corner, we took a throw in and before we knew it they had scored at the other end."

But Silsden piled on the pressure in the second half.

"We won corner after corner and free kick after free kick, but just could not get the ball in the back of the net. We hit the woodwork and did everything but score," he said.

When Silsden finally scored it was an absolute gem.

Jamie Longley struck the ball from 25-yards and it powered into the Holker net.

"The crowd really go behind us in the closing stages, but we just couldn't do it.

"Now we will have to concentrate on the FA Vase competition and hope we can get through a few rounds in that. We will have to lift the lads after Wednesday's defeat, but it should be another superb game.

"On Wednesday it was our first half performance that let us down, and if we can continue where we left off in the second half somebody is going to really suffer.

"I want to thank everybody who turned up to give us their support, they certainly got plenty of entertainment. We hope to have another good crowd at Cougar Park on for the Vase on Saturday afternoon," Geary said.

The FA Vase was originally an amateur competition, the FA Amateur Cup, but with many of the top amateur players receiving payment for playing, The FA abolished the distinction between amateur and professional in 1974. They scrapped the Amateur Cup and introduced The FA Vase for the majority of clubs who had previously played in the Amateur Cup.

Silsden's game in the Second Qualifying Round kicks off at Cougar Park at 3pm on Saturday.