Manager Joe Conneely said his Hinckley AFC side made too many mistakes in the second half of their play-off clash with Droitwich Spa.
AFC were leading 3-1 going into the final ten minutes, when a penalty and a wondergoal earned Droitwich a shot at penalties.
And visiting ‘keeper Dom Rogerson saved two of Hinckley’s spot kicks to ensure the Worcestershire side still hold hopes of reaching step five.
And Conneely felt his side deserved their half-time lead, but made too many errors after half time.
He said: “First half we were good. They scored against the run of play but we responded really well. We scored good goals to take the lead and the message was for more of the same and to try and take the game away from them.
“We went 3-1 up against the run of play with a goal out of nothing. When you’re 3-1 up with ten minutes to go, you have to see the game out. We started making mistakes that we haven’t made all year.
“We’ve conceded some bad goals this year through defensive mistakes but these mistakes are ones that we haven’t made before. We were ran ragged by a front two whose movement was really good. They won a penalty which was ridiculous defending from us.
“And then a minute later, instead of settling down, we concede again. Trying to flick balls instead of clearing our lines properly. It meant they had momentum going into the shoot-out. It’s a disappointing day, we’re a bit flat and disappointed at the minute.
He said those mistakes can happen in a high-pressure game, but felt his team didn’t do enough to see the game through.
“It’s hard because it’s a pressured environment and there’s a lot riding on it. But we got ourselves into a position to win the game and we have to see it out.
“We knew from the game at home to them, when they were 3-0 down and brought it back to 3-2, that they’d throw everything at us. They created overloads, we didn’t stop enough crosses into the box. The lad scored a wonderstrike for the third but it shouldn’t have come about.
“We picked an experienced team who have won and got promotions. We had people who have got over the line. Play-off games are different, they’re horrible to be involved in. It’s make or break. You make mistakes and you get punished.
“But again, from 3-1 up you have to manage the game properly and see it out.”
For Hinckley, attention now turns to the League Cup final next Wednesday as AFC aim to end the season with a piece of silverware.
And then Conneely says the hard work begins ahead of 2023/24.
“We’ve got a cup final that we’ll look forward to. It’s a privilege to be in a final, we’ve done well to get there from all the teams in our league and the one above.
“Then we’ll have to go again. We’ll rebuild and reload for next year. This needs to hurt us, it will hurt, but we’ve come a long way since the start of the season. They’re a good group who are a pleasure to work with, hopefully we can stick together with as many as we can and go again in the summer.”
