Ford left to reflect on what might have been

After seeing his side lose 4-3 in Tuesday’s final against Oxford City at Court Place Farm, Ford reflected on how the Puritans had let slip a two-goal winning advantage. Reece Fleet’s late winner was the first time City had been ahead in the final but it proved to be the decisive goal. Up to that point United had given the holders a good run for their money.

Ford said: “We got pegged back straight after halftime, then did well to go 3-1 up but we didn’t keep that two-goal advantage for long enough. At 3-1 up and at that stage of the game you need to be able to see it out but we didn’t do that.

“We defended resolutely to go 3-1 up, even after we conceded the equaliser at the start of the second half we defended brilliantly but after we went 3-1 up the players seemed to think the game was over.

“We didn’t defend how we had been up to that point, give away a soft second goal and a poor penalty. Our intensity at 1-0, 1-1 and 2-1 wasn’t there when we went 3-1 ahead, we didn’t defend as we should have done.

“The players showed a lot of pride out there and were a real threat at times against a team a division higher than us City had a lot of possession but for all that they didn’t trouble us that much, we caused our problems at times.”