Musselburgh Athletic manager Liam Burns said his side could not have given him any more in their Scottish Cup extra-time defeat to Clyde on Monday evening at Olivebank.
The East of Scotland Premier Division side went into the game, in front of a sell-out home crowd, as underdogs against their League Two opposition.
READ MORE: Scottish Cup: Pictures from Musselburgh Athletic's big night
But despite the two divisions separating them, the county side held their own, forcing extra time with a late equaliser before going on to narrowly lose 3-2 in the extra half hour.
Burgh boss Burns expressed his pride in his side for their efforts on the night.
He said: “I thought first half there was very little in it, second half they were the better side and extra time they were better than us as well.
“It’s a sore one because you get that goal to make it 3-2 and if we’d kept it 2-1 that would have been an equaliser.”
READ MORE: Scottish Cup: Clyde end Musselburgh Athletic hopes in extra time
The county side went 1-0 down with 15 minutes to play before equalising through Jamie Todd on 83 minutes. Clyde would go on to make it 3-1 in extra time before Kris Renton grabbed a late consolation for Burgh.
The Musselburgh manager was full of praise for his side but called into question the referee’s decision not to send off Clyde’s Kian Leslie for a foul on Todd in the second half. Leslie would go on to net Clyde’s third in the game.
He said: “It’s a sore one because I think the lad who scores the winner should have been sent off. I think it was a bad tackle, I don’t think he’s trying to be reckless but I think it is a potential ankle breaker and a bad tackle so that hurts us as well.
“But they were the better side, they deserved to go through. The boys gave me everything, they couldn’t have given me any more at all and I’m really proud of them.”
Focus will now return to the East of Scotland Premier Division, where Musselburgh host fellow county side Dunbar United, who overcame East Fife in the Scottish Cup at the weekend, this Saturday.
The Burgh boss said: “Focus is now well and truly on the league. This game hasn’t taken anything away from the focus, it’s been on the league every other game. We’ll dust ourselves down, train on Thursday and get ready for Dunbar on Saturday.
“We really struggled at the start of the season with injuries but now we’re getting guys back and I think we’ll do well. Broxburn are winning the league at the moment, we’re eight behind with a game in hand, so we’ll certainly get as close as we can to them.”
The manager also took time to thank the home support on the night.
He added: “A massive thanks to everyone, the support was really good. It means more to us than people might actually think.
“I want to say a massive thanks to the whole town. they’ve backed us all week and we can’t thank them enough for all their efforts.
Jamie Todd, who netted the equaliser for Musselburgh, was also left heartbroken by the result.
He said: “I thought we went into the game quite well, we started well and maybe the last 15 or 20 minutes into the first half they came into it a bit, but after that I thought we matched them and took them all the way.
“We’ve played 120 minutes three weeks out of the last six weeks and it’s maybe just took its toll on us a bit tonight.
“It is a challenge, they’re obviously two leagues above us but that is obviously where some players want to play and this is the best way to do it, to test yourself against these type of teams in the Scottish Cup.”
Reflecting on his goal and the support from the crowd the defender said: “There’s been a few goals recently, it’s not something that I’m used to but I managed to get on the end of it and it was great to grab the goal and to hear the celebrations from the crowd.
“It’s good when you get the backing, it gives you another wee lift, so I appreciate all the fans coming out to watch us and for all the support throughout the season.
“We’ve got Dunbar on Saturday which is another massive game, they’re up there in the league too so it will definitely be another good game for us and I think it’s another one that we can go and test ourselves again and hopefully get another three points and keep continuing the journey that we’re on.”
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