RICARDO RICHARDS reflected on a ‘massive missed opportunity’ after Black Horse let slip a 3-1 lead in the final 25 minutes to bow out of the FA Sunday Cup.
Goals from Luke Dugmore, Rees James and Lewis Clarke put the Redditch side within sight of the semi-finals of the national competition for the first time when they played Aylesbury Flooring at Studley Entaco.
However, two errors handed the visitors a way back into the tie and they prevailed 5-3 to leave Black Horse player-boss Richards and his team shell-shocked.
“I don’t think we’ll have a better opportunity to go through,” said Richards, who also lost in the last eight last year with former club Highgate Dynamos.
“We were the better team, we battered them and led 3-1 with 25 minutes left. We came off thinking ‘how have we lost that game?’
“We were cruising and then suddenly the whole game flipped. Our keeper made an error and then they got a penalty which didn’t seem a penalty to me to make it 3-3.
“They went ahead with five minutes left and then we got caught late on as we were desperately trying to get an equaliser. It was hugely disappointing – it’ll take a while to get over it.”
Richards will be hoping his Bromsgrove & District League side can bounce back quickly as they are chasing a quadruple. As well as two league cup competitions and the title to aim for, they will be bidding to reach the final of the Birmingham County FA’s top Sunday football competition – the Roger Wood Memorial Cup – when they face Highgate Hazlewell. The clash with the Coronation League side will be played on March 24.
Black Horse, who have a 100 per cent league record so far, visit Rubery on Sunday, with Richards expecting a positive response.
“It hurts to go out of the FA Sunday Cup but we’ve still got the county cup, the league and two domestic cups,” said Richards. “If we win all four of them, it won’t be a bad season.”
