WORCESTER City produced one of the performances of their lives to earn a deserved 1-1 tie at Scunthorpe United and ensure they are in the hat for tomorrow's FA Cup third-round draw.

Daniel Nti's equaliser 60 seconds after the restart cancelled out Paddy Madden's 36th-minute strike to set up a mouth-watering replay at Aggborough a week on Tuesday.

It also extended City's extraordinary unbeaten run to 14 games and, following the 2-1 Coventry triumph in the first round, is another proud chapter in their history.

Carl Heeley's side showed remarkable character to not only stand shoulder to shoulder with their League One hosts but play them off the park for most of the second period.

Scunthorpe had threatened to overpower the visitors in the first-half but City displayed the sort of resilience that has underpinned their season as they drew level and played with confidence that belied the 60 places between the teams.

The final whistle was met with a pitch invasion from the 2,200-strong travelling support, who once again played a huge part in the Blue and Whites' success.

Although City came up against a robust Scunthorpe side in the first-half, Heeley's men came out of their shells after the break and demonstrated the quality they have.

Led by the experienced Wayne Thomas, who was a rock at the back, and the saves of Nathan Vaughan, City's young guns played with the sort of fearless exuberance that makes them so dangerous.

Goal-scorer Nti, George Williams, Tyler Weir and Graham Hutchison all excelled, while Sean Geddes grew in stature as the game progressed.

Worcester gave as good as they got for the first half-an-hour and Thomas had an audacious half-volley saved by Sam Slocombe.

But the hosts began to overwhelm their opponents. City grew increasingly frustrated and Weir felled Terry Hawkridge just outside the box despite the left-back's claims that his opponent had dived.

It was a costly moment for the visitors as centre-half Miguel Llera's free-kick took a deflection which Vaughan flicked against the bar only for Madden to turn the loose ball home.

Before half-time, Thomas gifted the ball straight to Neal Bishop on the edge of the box but the United captain fired wide.

But it was different after the break and within a minute of the restart City were level.

Weir played the ball into the box, the Scunthorpe defence failed to deal with it and players threw themselves into the melee but it was Nti who managed to bundle past Slocombe and send the away fans barmy.

It gave City the lift they needed. Soon after, Geddes' corner was spilled by Slocombe and Mike Symons lashed the loose ball over the bar.

Scunthorpe were rattled but came within a whisker of regaining the lead on the hour.

Connor Gater lost possession in the box and substitute Hakeeb Adelakun's strike was superbly saved by Vaughan low to his right and, with the goal gaping, Billy Kee drilled the rebound wide.

But it was Worcester who continued to call the shots, forcing the hosts into errors.

Defensively, they worked tirelessly, getting to everything ahead of their opponents and snuffing out threats.

Madden drew another save from Vaughan as the hosts refused to lie down but still the visitors pressed.

By the end, the away support were almost sucking the ball into the net and they celebrated wildly at the final whistle.