Ian Dunn offered no excuses after seeing his Pinchbeck United side dumped out of the PFA Senior Cup on penalties.
Having trailed 2-0 to ChromaSport PDFL Premier Division rivals Langtoft United at half time on Saturday, Pinchbeck battled back to draw 2-2 at Knight Street thanks to goals from Tom Brooks and Jamie Francis.
That forced a penalty shoot-out, with Langtoft prevailing 5-4 to progress to the semi-finals.
Despite seeing his hopes of a treble disappear, player/boss Dunn had few complaints with his side – instead choosing to praise the efforts of victorious Langtoft.
He said: “It was very frustrating, we just didn’t turn up in the first half and they capitalised.
“We dominated in the second half – and if the game had gone to extra time we’d have won it comfortably.
“But you have to praise Langtoft, they set their stall out very well and put maximum effort into their performance. They were tired by the end of the 90 minutes, but that’s because they worked incredibly hard.
“I can’t really explain our first-half showing. We hadn’t played for a few weeks prior, so I can only assume we were undercooked. That’s not an excuse, but it’s simply something we couldn’t do anything about.
“We’ve now got to focus on the rest of the season. We’ve got a minimum of 19 games to fit in, so the matches will come thick and fast. There’s still much to play for, we’ve got the President Premier Shield semi-final and lots of league games to come.
“Saying that, the next four matches will shape our season.”
Having not played since January 16, Pinchbeck were caught cold by goals from Joe Dobson and James Duffy in the first half.
They improved after the break, with player/boss Dunn forcing two smart saves from the visiting keeper before Brooks pulled one back on 65 minutes with a crisp finish following Ryan Leggett’s blocked effort.
The equaliser arrived ten minutes from time when sub Francis raced onto a long goal kick from Jordan McCready and finished well to force penalties.
But it was Langtoft who held firm to progress 5-4.
Pinchbeck host Premier Division high-fliers Whittlesey Athletic on Saturday (2pm).
Pinchbeck: McCready, Leggett, A Murrell, B Murrell, Brooks, Lambley, Gardner, Bishop, Woods, Dunn, Sae-Be. Subs used: Francis. Not used: Dickinson, Brown.
Attendance: 40.
