Hurst and Rob Scott have led Boston to fifth in Blue Square Bet North

Joint-manager Paul Hurst felt Boston United were out-battled by Gloucester City in their 1-0 FA Trophy defeat.

Darren Mullings' 67th-minute goal settled the tie, with the Pilgrims unable to find a response despite a frantic finale at York Street.

Hurst told BBC Lincolnshire: "We did a lot of the hard work in the first half but never kicked on in the second half.

"We were out-muscled and couldn't stand up to it. It's disappointing because I thought we had both sides to our game."

Boston had an early let-off when the referee failed to spot a handball on the goal-line by Rory Coleman, while at the other end Spencer Weir-Daley and Mikel Suarez went close in the first half.

The visitors took the lead when Mullings stabbed the ball home after a miscued clearance by keeper James McKeown.

The Pilgrims pressed for an equaliser in the final few minutes, with Coleman hitting the crossbar from a free-kick and Anthony Church and Danny Sleath also missing good opportunities in added time.

Hurst added: "The conditions were horrible but that's not an excuse, we weren't good enough.

"If we had got a draw I wouldn't say we would have pinched it, but at the same time I don't think we deserved it.

"What let us down were the little things but they all add up and we came up short."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version