Boss Paul Braithwaite said if his Wootton Bassett Town players had been more streetwise they might still find themselves in the mix in the FA Cup first qualifying round.
Bassett were beaten 2-1 at Western League county rivals Bradford Town in the preliminary round on Saturday. Braithwaite said a second Bradford goal minutes before half-time for Mark Wall was decisive.
“We were a little naive and if we hadn’t been, I think we could have got something from the tie,” said the Bassett manager.
“We were trying to play football the right way but if we’d kept things tight and been wary of conceding at the end of the half, it could have been a different game with us only losing 1-0. We were pretty competitive for the first 30 minutes or so and we came right back into the game at the end but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.”
Wall’s curled effort put Bradford ahead and minutes before the break Dan Bailey was caught in possession, Wall drove forward and slalomed past Richie Carter before firing home.
Bassett didn’t manage to hit back until the final minute of the game, with James Skinner finding the bottom corner of the net with a powerful effort from around 30 yards.
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