“The gaffer said this game’s for the club!” Andi Thanoj on his first Boston United goal and why he doesn’t want to draw former club Grimsby Town in the FA Cup

The midfielder’s inch-perfect 39th-minute free kick was enough for the Pilgrims to squeeze through into the FA Cup’s first round at Hednesford.

“At first I didn’t quite believe it. I haven’t had that feeling in a Boston shirt,” admitted Thanoj, whose first goal came in his 76th appearance.

“I was buzzing after that.

“I’ve missed the last few games, not been in the team, so it was a big game for me personally.

“When that went in it made it a really good day.

“Every time I put this shirt on I want to do myself justice and play my best for this club. We did that as a team today.”

United were made to battle for the victory by their lower-league hosts, on a day where injuries and illness gave manager Craig Elliott some selection issues.“We knew it was going to be a gritty game but we showed we can handle that side of the game, everyone’s just buzzing to be in the first round,” Thanoj added.

“It shows the strength and character we’ve got as a club.

“The gaffer said all week this game’s for the club. We know how much it means to the fans, the chairman and everyone involved.”

While Boston are in the hat for Monday’s draw there is one team the former Mariner wants to avoid.

“I’ve got to the third round when I was at Grimsby, we lost to Huddersfield,” he said.

“It’s a cliche, but we just want to see how far we get.

“To be honest, no (I don’t want Grimsby), I’d hope for an easy game to get the win.”