BRAKES boss Paul Holleran has challenged his side to use the disappointment of Saturday’s extra-time defeat against Altrincham in the first round of the FA Trophy as a springboard to kick-start their season.
Holleran’s side put their recent league troubles firmly behind them to push Conference National visitors Altrincham all the way and were desperately unfortunate to get a positive result in Saturday’s replay at the Phillips 66 Community Stadium.
The hosts fell behind to a fourth minute penalty after Michael Rankine was fouled in the area and he stepped up to score the resultant spot kick.
But after coming close on several occassions, Brakes scored an equaliser in the 90th minute through Jack Edwards to force extra-time.
The hosts had to chances to win it but failed to find a winner and instead it was Altrincham who scored the all important winner with Rankine bagging his second of the game with a powerful shot deep into extra-time.
“It’s a tough one to take,” said Holleran. “Having had so much control and so many chances, but they have taken theirs and we’ve only scored one.
“There are still mistakes and we’re still a little bit sloppy at times, but there are signs that we are getting back to somewhere near where we need to be.
“We’ve been the dominant team today, there were a lot of good performances, the only thing we didn’t do was win the game. You’ve also got to give Altrincham a bit of credit – they hung in there and when they got a chance, they took it.
“We’ve had a good little run in this competition and put in some good performances, but we’ve got to get our heads down now and concentrate on what’s important to us, picking up some points in the league and getting back on track.”
