GARETH Davies was left to rue what might have been as Fairford Town’s FA Vase adventure came to an end in the first round with a narrow 2-1 defeat at home to Andover Town.

Fairford were punished for a sloppy first half as they found themselves two goals in arrears inside 20 minutes at Cinder Lane before the challenge facing the hosts’ got even steeper when Luke Cordery was shown a straight red card for a lunging challenge.

Goalkeeper Ben Mitchell prevented the Hellenic Division One West side falling further behind in the opening exchanges of the second half when he saved a penalty before Lee Smith reduced the deficit with a spot-kick of his own.

Try as they might, though, Fairford were unable to force an equaliser in the closing stages and Davies believes it was a missed opportunity for his side to shine in a national competition.

“It was a bit frustrating. I know we had a lad sent off, which didn’t help, but I think our first-half performance has killed us a little bit because we have given two sloppy goals away,” said Davies.

“In the second half, with 10 men, I thought we did really well. I couldn’t fault the players’ commitment and attitude in that second half, we just didn’t have enough to get us over the line.

“With about a minute to go we had a great chance to equalise but we didn’t take it and that’s the way it goes, unfortunately.

“It’s disappointing. The team that we have has got bags of potential and they are all very good players.

“Even with 10 men, I know Ben saved a penalty but I don’t really recall Andover dominating the game and putting us under loads of pressure.

“We worked our socks and the lads are really disappointed that we’ve been knocked out.”

It could have been a different story had Fairford kept 11 players on the pitch but although believing Cordery’s dismissal to be harsh, Davies refused to use it as an excuse.

“From where we were stood, because his foot is slightly higher than the other guy’s, I think that’s why he’s gone,” said Davies.

“I’ve seen lads get yellows for that and I’ve also seen them get reds. It looked like a 50-50 and then a few minutes later, one of their players did exactly the same and didn’t even get a booking. It’s a difficult one to call but it is what it is, you have to get on with it.”

Hellenic Premier Division side Highworth Town will look to secure a place in the second round when they travel to AC London this afternoon.