HORNCHURCH will be looking to bounce back from their FA Cup disappointment when they head to Dorking Wanderers this weekend.
Hornchurch suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Leiston in Tuesday’s third qualifying round replay.
And skipper Ryan Scott was frustrated to be eliminated from the competition for another season.
“It was a massively disappointing result for the club but credit to Leiston and good luck to them in the next round,” said Scott.
“There’s no doubt the referee’s decisions changed the outcome of the game and in my opinion he got three major decisions completely wrong.
“But we still needed to do more all round the pitch.”
Hornchurch drew 1-1 in the first meeting between the teams last weekend and took the lead via Tom Wraight in the replay.
However, the visitors equalised in the 67th minute with Eddie Jackson on target before the hosts suffered another blow in stoppage time when goalkeeper Mason Terry was red-carded for handling the ball outside the penalty area
Wraight took over between the sticks but Leiston made the most of their numerical advantage in extra time with Jamar Loza making it 2-1 from the penalty spot in the 108th minute.
Loza sealed Leiston’s win and a home tie against Daryl McMahon's former club Dagenham & Redbridge on October 12 with a late goal, but Scott insists the Urchins will be looking to get back on track in National League South.
“We can now focus on the league for a few weeks and try to build on our cohesion as a group,” said Scott.
“We've had a lot of change within the squad lately with personnel and shape, so building relationships with the players around you is key and people being clear on their jobs is so important but we have an experienced squad so there are no excuses.
“It’s up to us to bounce back from a couple of below-par performances and get back to where we were only a couple of weeks ago.”
Hornchurch are 15th in the table, one point and one place below Dorking who were relegated from the National League last season.
And Scott is expecting a tough test against them on Saturday.
“Dorking might look out-of-sorts on paper and have had injury issues of their own but with the squad they have, we know it’s going to be a challenge going away from home having played extra time with 10 men on Tuesday night as well,” said Scott.
“That’s in the past now so we need to look forward, recover properly and make sure we are organised ready for Saturday.”
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