Paul Crowson offered no excuses as he watched Moulton Harrox crash out of the PFA Senior Cup at ICA Sports on Saturday.
Harrox were upset 2-1 by their hosts in the quarter-final clash, meaning their hopes of clinching a treble are now over.
A well-taken Jake Cawthorn strike in the 45th minute rescued a poor first half for Moulton as they went in level at 1-1 at the break.
But a free kick that deflected in off the head of Ashley Coddington 15 minutes from time earned ICA a surprise win – and Moulton number two Crowson inists that they were the better side on the day.
“It’s not often that I’m lost for words,” said the Harrox stalwart. “We were absolutely awful.
“Yes, ICA are a much improved side. But we only played in patches.
“They should really have been 3-0 up at half time, but Jake Cawthorne’s fine goal gave us something to work with.
“We did improve in the second half and things might have been different if Dan Woods had taken one of his two chances.
“But that’s cup football. They got a rather fortunate goal and we pushed late on, but they deserved to win and we wish them well in the competition.
“We seem to have lost a bit of confidence – and that’s a funny old thing.
“It’s not the end of the world for us, we are in another cup semi-final and still in with a shout in the league.
“Our season is far from over and there’s much still to play for. But we need to buck our ideas up, as Saturday was very disappointing.
“The next two games, on paper at least, are very winnable, so hopefully we can restore some confidence.
“But there will be some changes, that’s for sure.”
Moulton play host to 12th-placed Leverington Sports this Saturday (2pm), before visiting 10th-placed Sawtry the following week.
They are seven points behind leaders Peterborough Sports Reserves, having played a game more.
Harrox: Kenealy, Groves, Johnson, Coddington, Watkin, Cawthorne, L Steadman, Allen, McGuire, Woods, Parry. Sub used: Townsend. Not used: King, Bailey-Smith, N Steadman.
Attendance: 20.
