Striker Hallam Hope provided a fantastic assist just before half-time on Saturday afternoon which set wide man Harry McKirdy up for his ninth goal of the season as he got on the end of what was a peach of a delivery.
Speaking about the game just after full time at the weekend, the forward said: “I thought we played really well. This was always going to be a tough game but we went out with the frame of mind that we wanted to get through to the next round.
“Going ahead by two goals makes it more disappointing that we didn’t manage to see it out. They had a spell where they came at us, and they got their goals, but it was us who looked the more likely to score at the end of the game.”
“I think were a bit unlucky not to get the victory,” he added. “We knew the first 15 minutes of the second half were going to be crucial, but we didn’t manage to keep them out.
“Against a team like this we could have folded but I thought the lads dug deep and, like I say, we had chances ourselves to win it. It’s just a shame that we couldn’t take one of them.”
Having provided the assist for the United’s second goal just before the break, he commented: “It was quite tight over by the touchline when I got the ball but it was a good break from the team. I knew I just needed to get it out of my legs and try to get the cross in.
“Harry [McKirdy] took up a great position and he’s getting a few with his head recently. It’s the type of goal any team likes to score. We’ve got good attacking players and we can play on the break or in possession, and we want to be getting more goals from that kind of situation.”
With the attacking play coming from the away side as the game wore on he admitted that he thought he’d scored after he’d broken through following a one-two with Mike Jones.
“I really did think it was going in,” he said. “My head was in my hands when it went over. It was one of those where I knew I had to go for it before I got closed down and the keeper was beaten.
“I was gutted about that, but it doesn’t change the fact we played well as a team. It will be a different test in the replay, but we’re confident going into any game that we can win it and we’ll look forward to it.
“Obviously the draw will be interesting but we can’t think about that too much. We want to go as far as we can, and I think we’ve shown against Cardiff that we’re capable of doing that. We’ve just got to make sure we perform in the next game. Hopefully we’ll get the job done at our place.”
