MANAGER Tony Armstrong reflected on a “soul-destroying” defeat as his Essex and Suffolk Border League Representative team bowed out of the FA Carlsberg Inter League System Cup.

They made it through to the quarter-finals – the furthest they had ever been in the competition – but the adventure ended after a 5-1 defeat against the Spartan South Midlands League, at Harwich and Parkeston’s Royal Oak ground.

A crowd of more than 250 turned out to support the hosts but they were 4-0 down by the time Shaun Kioussis netted their consolation from the penalty spot, after a foul on Steve Eaton.

“The scoreline didn’t reflect the game in any way, shape or form,” said Armstrong, who was assisted by Lloyd Pentney and coaches Matt Carmichael and Mark Sharp.

“It was goal-less for an hour, but we knew whoever scored first would always have the upper hand.

“They got it and then quickly added a second, so suddenly found ourselves chasing the game.

“The Spartan League had an exceptional centre-forward, who scored three top-notch goals.

“Aside from him, the two teams were fairly even but he was the difference.

“We contained him in the first half but in the second he drifted over to the left and got behind us.”

They saw off the Suffolk and Ipswich League and the Brighton, Hove and Worthing League, before knocking out holders Jersey.

“It’s been a great run and we’ve beaten three teams away from home,” said Armstrong.

“However, that just made it even more soul-destroying to finally get a home game and not perform to our true potential.

“It could have been a different story. We had chances and two of their goals were offside, including the fifth, which was the most blatant offside I’ve seen in 40 years.”

The Border League team included Little Oakley’s Jamie Dobkin, Lewis Wood, Stephen Polley and Mark Palmer, while the Acorns’ Kioussis was on the bench, along with Harwich’s Sam Felgate.

As a result of the weekend’s big game, there were no Border League fixtures scheduled for Saturday.