WEYMOUTH manager Bobby Wilkinson hailed an “unbelievable performance” from his players as they took AFC Wimbledon to an FA Cup first round replay.

There were ominous signs early on as Ayoub Assal handed the League Two side a fifth-minute lead, lobbing ex-Dons keeper Zaki Oualah with aplomb.

Weymouth roared back with a characterful and dominant display thereafter as countless shots rained in on away keeper Nikola Tzanev’s goal.

Eventually, Weymouth’s pressure told and the Terras got a highly-deserved equaliser through Ahkeem Rose’s low free-kick.

Weymouth could have won it late on, only to squander a catalogue of chances with the Dons rattled.

READ MORE: Weymouth 1-1 AFC Wimbledon - FA Cup match report

However, few could have denied Weymouth deserved a replay following the 1-1 draw against a team ranked 58 places above them in the English football pyramid.

Post-match, Wilkinson told the assembled media: “I’m just so proud of everyone at the football club.

“I keep saying it, I believe you can achieve anything in football. The man-of-the-match was the fans, the volunteers, the staff, especially my assistant-manager (Mike Percival) who works extremely hard for me and every one of my players. It’s all about everyone.

“I’m not going to change, I’m going to keep believing and bringing that mindset of: ‘You can win anything’.

“We’ve got to go into Tuesday (at St Albans) and take that unbelievable performance, especially the second half.

“You could see we were a lot stronger, a lot fitter, but it’s going to take time to get where we need to get.”

Reflecting on a memorable cup tie, Wilkinson said: “When we conceded the goal there was no panic, everyone stayed together.

“What I am more proud about is the way we stayed in the game. We speak about that five minutes, because if you concede a second one, we don’t get (a replay).

“We rode the storm for ten minutes and then dominated for 60, 70 minutes. I’m not trying to speak out of turn there, we were just outstanding.”

He added: “They’re a fantastic football club, with a fantastic manager (Johnnie Jackson), let’s make that very clear.

“We’re just going to enjoy the (result) because we’re the underdogs. Full credit to AFC Wimbledon to come here in tricky conditions.

“To compete the way we competed with them – I’m a very proud manager of everyone at the club.”

READ MORE: Weymouth 1-1 AFC Wimbledon - how it happened

Asked by Echosport if he had a tinge of disappointment not to win the game, Wilkinson said: “I’m not going to get greedy.

“I’m so proud of us, it’s all about us. If we could’ve won it, brilliant. There’s always ifs and buts in football.

“I always show the opposition and manager the out and out respect. That’s a tough place for them to come, with fantastic support. They were a credit.

“We dominated for 70 minutes. I don’t mean that disrespectfully, I thought we dominated after the goal. That was a mistake.

“My boys rallied in together. I’ve got a special group here. I’m getting closer and closer to them every day and I’m starting to see individuals stand up a little bit.

“I’m starting to see that winning mentality come. Now we just have to take it in to the league.”

When put to him the deafening support behind the goal sucked Weymouth into attack after attack, Wilkinson replied: “No, they didn’t suck it – the way we played sucked it in.

“The boys deserve that credit playing in the right areas. I’ve watched AFC Wimbledon twice, I’ve done my homework.

“They’re a fantastic footballing side, the manager’s a footballing manager and I totally respect that.

“What I wanted to do was put them under pressure, not let them play, stop the gaps and get it in the right areas.

“I think you’ll notice from last week we had ten opportunities to put the ball in the box, we put it in eight times.

“If you put the ball in the box, you score goals. If you tippy tappy, you don’t win no games. That’s not rocket science.”

In the first half, Weymouth had strong appeals for a penalty for a potential Josh Davison handball waved away.

Wilkinson said: “I thought it was a handball but the referee’s the man in charge, he’s made that decision.

“What I will say is that my boys were brilliant. I’m not worried about the referee. Handball or no handball, my boys stood up to be counted.”

Weymouth and AFC Wimbledon now go into the hat for Monday's second round draw as ball number 22, screened live on BBC2 from 7pm.