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Whitstable Town boss Lloyd Blackman has urged his players not to let Tuesday’s FA Trophy elimination dent their confidence.
The Oystermen suffered late heartbreak as they conceded a goal in the 120th minute to lose 1-0 to Ware in their preliminary round replay.
Their focus has now switched to Saturday when they will travel to face winless East Grinstead Town, who sit bottom of the Isthmian South East.
Reflecting on Tuesday, Blackman said: “It was two evenly-matched sides over the two games and it was just a horrible way for it to finish for us unfortunately.
“It was literally the last kick of extra time and we didn’t deserve that but that happens in football.
“We’d been pressing in extra time, we looked comfortable, had lots of possession and our fitness levels were far superior, but we just got sucker-punched right at the end.
“From a neutral point of view, both sides were really good to watch and in terms of the entertainment value nobody could really complain.
“Dan Eason made two or three outstanding saves, they probably had the more clear cut opportunities but over the 120 minutes we were more than good value for getting through to the next round.
“We had good opportunities ourselves, it really was a to-and-fro tie and neither side deserved to lose really.
“We turned around afterwards and as much as we were disappointed at the final whistle, the last thing we spoke about was the focus now being on the league and getting ourselves into a good position.
“We’ve done remarkably well over the last month and it’s important for us as a group not to dwell on it as it was one that could have gone either way.”
Whitstable had to do without winger Marshall Wratten, who was recalled by Dover following his month-long loan at The Belmont.
While disappointed to lose the 19-year-old’s services, Blackman has backed him to make a name for himself at Crabble.
He said: “The kid loved it down here, I spoke to Hess (Andy Hessenthaler) and wanted to try and extend his stay but unfortunately it wasn’t right for Dover at the time.
“For the time that he was with us his attitude was outstanding, he always contributed and was fantastic with the boys. We’d love to have him back if the opportunity ever arises again.
“When you look through the characteristics and the attributes you look for in a player he ticks all the boxes and he's just had a good month of experience.”
John Walker is expected to return from injury at the weekend, while Connor Sanders is still to shake off an ankle problem.
After visiting East Grinstead, Whitstable host Ashford in the Velocity Trophy on Tuesday night.
