Town left 'heartbroken' by FA Cup exit (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Town left 'heartbroken' by FA Cup exit

9:06am Monday 8th October 2012 in Sport By John Boyman

BASINGSTOKE Town manager Jason Bristow said his side were left “heartbroken” after hosts Dorchester Town pulled off a smash and grab victory to knock them out of the FA Cup.

The Camrose club were the better side for the majority of Saturday’s third qualifying round tie in Dorset but a combination of good defence and some bad decision making in the final third prevented them from scoring.

At the other end, Dorchester struggled to get anything going in attack – but they made the most of some weak clearances to score the only goal of the game 10 minutes into the second half.

Bristow said: “It is not the end of the world by any means but we wanted a cup run. We wanted it for the money, the prestige and the chance of getting a good draw later on.

“You cannot fault anyone today though. They all gave everything for the cause and how we have lost that game is beyond me.

“We will try to pick them up and go again but that is heartbreaking. I would rather play badly and lose. We have taken the game to a team going well and I’m sure they cannot believe their luck.

“We played some terrific football but did not quite work the goalkeeper enough. We got in good positions but could not get the final delivery right.

“For the whole game, apart from 10 seconds where we did not clear our lines, I cannot fault the lads. We had two or three chances to put the ball up the other end of the pitch but it is difficult to moan because the lads were fantastic.

“There are masses of positives to take away. We are so close but at the moment it is frustrating because we are not pulling it off.”

Town have a chance to bounce straight back in another cup competition tomorrow night, when they travel to Farnborough in the second round of the Hampshire Senior Cup (kick-off 7.45pm).

Bristow insists that he will be taking the competition seriously – but he will not risk players carrying slight injuries.

“We want to win the Hampshire Cup but have got to be sensible because we have got a few niggling injuries,” he said. “There is no point putting out players who are not totally fit.”

Players such as Simon Dunn and Toby Little are expected to start the game, which could also see Jide Ogunbote return to action for the first time this season following a leg injury.

See The Monday Gazette for a full report.