NEIL ASPIN reckons Gateshead “threw away” the chance of a trip to Wembley after being dumped out of the FA Trophy by former club FC Halifax Town on penalties.
The quarter-final replay on Wednesday went the distance after finishing 3-3. Josh Gillies scored early on and Ryan Bowman put the Heed 2-1 up after Kingsley James’ equaliser.
Connor Hughes levelled for Halifax right at the death and Shaquille McDonald put them 3-2 up in extra time before Gillies’ second meant the tie was decided from the spot.
Unfortunately for Aspin, skipper Ben Clark saw his penalty fly over the bar and Halifax defender Matty Brown netted the winner to set up a semi-final against Nantwich Town, much to the frustration of the International Stadium chief.
Aspin told the club’s website: “Obviously, we had numerous chances to put the game beyond doubt. We probably had more chances than we’ve had in any other game at home since I’ve been here.
“We’ve thrown it away. The defending for their [second] equaliser was terrible. The ball has travelled 70 or 80 yards and we haven’t dealt with it.
“But, in cup competitions, you have to think sometimes that it isn’t meant to be, and tonight was one of those occasions. I’ve been in football for a long time, and you get nights like this where you feel very disappointed, but you have to try and move on.
“There were a lot of good points, and it’s totally irrelevant that we lost to my former club – I’d have been disappointed losing to anyone after dominating the game and losing on penalties.
“There are many things you could analyse from the game, but the top and bottom of it is that we had enough chances to win the game, should have won the game, but we haven’t.”
