LILLIES boss Jimmy Unwin felt his boys became men after their gritty performance gained a spiritited point against Lakenheath.

Chatteris took the lead after eight minutes through Stu Parker but conceded a goal just before half-time following the dismissal of goalkeeper Ben Collett for preventing a goalscoring opportunity. Tom Moden, who replaced Collett in an unusual keeping role, was unable to save the resulting free-kick.

The Lilies frustrated their visitors in the second period and Unwin was delighted with his side’s first performance after gaining promotion to the Kershaw Premier Division last season.

He said: “It’s definitely a case of one point gained rather than two points dropped.

“We have got a young side and have developed together but in this game the boys became men. Lakenheath are packed with experienced players. We were delighted with how organised and how hard we worked in the second-half.

“The sending-off changed the game as it stopped us from attacking. At the time I thought we had a covering defender but in the cold light of day I can see where the referee was coming from. However he went and spoke to his assistant who was 35 or so yards away from the incident which I don’t understand.”