The involvement of Northern Premier League teams in the FA Cup is over for another season, after Gainsborough Trinity fell to a 1-0 defeat at Football League side Harrogate Town on Friday night.
Given the 73 places separating the two sides in the football pyramid, Trinity went into Friday's game as heavy underdogs but took the game to their full-time opponents.
Ultimately, a Dean Cornelius header just before the hour mark sent Harrogate Town into the third round for just the second time in their history.
Nevertheless, Gainsborough boss Russ Wilcox insists that his team can exit the competition with their heads held high.
Speaking to the Linc, Wilcox said: “The journey’s been amazing. To achieve what we have achieved is great, and I can’t speak highly enough of the group.
“It is a disappointment though, because we spoke before the game and we believed we could win. We didn’t turn up tonight to make up the numbers, we wanted to win."
Trinity fans made up a quarter of Harrogate’s biggest attendance at the EnviroVent stadium side since 1950, with the official crowd figure reported as 4,010.
The 1,050 travelling fans gave their players a rousing ovation after the full-time whistle, and Wilcox hopes that the showing his side have put in during their seven-game cup run can bring the local footballing community closer together heading towards the festive period.
“The town’s come out in full force tonight," Wilcox added.
"It’s what you need in a football club,. They’ve seen what we’re about in this cup run, and we’ve shown them that we don’t fear anything.
“That’s our first defeat in 10, so it tells you what we’ve been doing recently. Hopefully we can get a FA Trophy run and kick on up the league table.”
Despite having at least five games in hand on everyone else in the Northern Premier League’s top division, Gainsborough are next in action in the aforementioned FA Trophy.
They welcome National League North strugglers Rushall Olympic to the Northolme on Saturday, before returning to league duties away at Mickleover on December 10.
