HIGHWORTH Town chairman Rohan Haines was left feeling proud of his players despite their FA Vase semi-final defeat to North Shields.

The Worthians headed to the northeast with a one goal deficit to overturn and despite creating numerous chances were not able to get on the scoresheet at the Darren Persson Stadium.

That prolificacy cost them a place in the final as the Robins’ hot shot striker Gareth Bainbridge and Dean Holmes sunk Highworth’s hopes with a pair of late strikes.

Highworth may have fallen at the penultimate hurdle, but the cup run has captured the imagination of many in the local area. More than 1,200 came through the gates at the Elms for the first leg and plenty travelled to North Shields on Saturday to watch the reverse fixture.

Haines was full of kind words for players and manager in defeat, acknowledging how special their efforts in the Vase have been this season.

“All the lads are a credit to Highworth Town football club and John Fisher is a credit to Highworth Town football club as well,” he told the Advertiser.

“You can only dream of things like this. Obviously, the dream is over now but you can’t say enough about the players and Johnny Fisher for what they’ve done for the football club.

“We’ve had a barren few years at the club but they’ve put us back on the map and we’ve had fantastic coverage in the Advertiser and on the radio.

“I think overall, over the two legs, we were the better side.

“I don’t think that this will ever happen again. To get to the semi-final of a major competition is amazing.

“The plan now is to try and push this club forward.”