BILLERICAY Town were held to a 1-1 draw against Sheppey United in the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round.

Daniel Bradshaw gave the visitors a shock lead on the nine-minute mark before Frankie Merrifield equalised for Gary McCann’s side three minutes before half-time.

Billericay had the first two opportunities of the game but it was the Ites, who sit in 16th place in the Isthmian South East Division, that broke the deadlock.

Bradshaw drove at the Billericay defence and he calmly slotted into the corner to raise the decibels considerably by the travelling contingent.

Billericay continued to carve out chances but were unable to apply that finishing touch.

Striking duo Ade Azeez and Moses Emmanuel linked up well but the latter saw his effort evade the target.

Sheppey’s big day in the sun was going all to plan until Billericay levelled the scoring.

A chaotic goalmouth scramble coincided with the ball falling to Merrifield who bundled home from close range.

After a first half where Sheppey narrowly edged proceedings, the Blues came flying out of the traps in the second.

Emmanuel’s deflected strike fell to goalscorer Merrifield and the former Canvey Island man couldn’t find the target.

On the 66-minutes mark, excellent play by Billericay coincided with the ball falling to Emmanuel but his strike stung the palms of Aiden Prall.

Sheppey were trying to ensure they didn’t let the lead slip as they were defending robustly and sprung counter-attacks on occasions.

However, Billericay's attacking quality was evident and they nearly took the initiative six minutes from time as Bradley Stevenson’s free-kick bounced off the top of the crossbar.

McCann’s side will now be heading to Kent on Tuesday night for a replay with a place in the first round at stake.