Bracknell Town 1 Basingstoke Town 0 (after extra time)

BASINGSTOKE Town got exactly what they deserved when they were dumped out of the FA Cup by minnows Bracknell on Tuesday night.

An abject display in the third qualifying round replay at Larges Lane from the Blues saw their lower-league hosts deservedly secure victory and progression to a fourth qualifying round home tie against Conference side Barnet.

Adam Crittenden's 112th-minute goal, bundled in from close-range, may be the only statistical evidence that separates the two sides in the history books after 210 minutes of football.

But the truth is Town played extremely poorly in both matches and lost to the better team.

Last Saturday, they were fortunate to get a replay. Instead of putting that right, however, it was an opportunity they spurned with another passionless performance.

It is insulting to any sportsman who has taken to the field competitively to say that they didn't want to win. Yet that is how some of the Town ranks played and looked on the pitch.

Going forward, there was nothing - no creativity, too many lousy passes straight to the opposition, abysmal set-plays and fluffed corners.

In the absence of key players through injury, too many others, especially creative talents like Efon Elad and Alex Ewin, have lost form.

It has heightened the loss of people like Craig McAllister and Neville Stamp. Resembling square pegs in round holes, the Town side has become an unbalanced one.

Confidence has been knocked as a whole, particularly among the youngsters, and it showed as Bracknell set about Town with a verve and passion lacking in their visitors.

But for Scott Tarr, who pulled off outstanding saves in both games, Town would have been staring at an even heavier defeat.

In the first 20 minutes on Tuesday, Tarr twice thwarted Crittenden in one-on-one situations. In the final minute, he saved magnificently from Jon Palmer, diving to his left at full-stretch to stop the winger's goal-bound effort and take the match into extra time.

Jason Bristow and Steve Hemmings also deserve credit, giving their all defensively and when they pressed forward.

That Town had to rely on two central defenders to cause panic in the Bracknell area said it all.

Neville Roach worked as hard as ever without support but he too is struggling presently.

The second 90 minutes was awful, the first 15 minutes of extra time equally so and it was no surprise when Bracknell pressure finally told with the goal. Town could offer no response. Substitute Jason Graham lashing over on 118 minutes from inside the Bracknell box was the nearest they got.

Crushing disappointment was etched on the face of Ernie Howe upon the final whistle. He offered a brief handshake to Bracknell boss Alan Taylor before foregoing his usual warm-down with the players.

Basingstoke Town: Scott Tarr, Ian Dickens, Ricky Allaway, David Ray, Jason Bristow, Steve Hemmings, Nathan Stamp, Efon Elad, Steve Laidler (sub Jason Graham 101min), Neville Roach (sub John Dyer 101min), Alex Ewin. Not used: Simon Herbert, Michael Watkins, Mark Patterson.