Matlock boss: ​'Last half-hour disappointing

​The Gladiators were beaten 3-0 to exit the competition at the first hurdle, despite the match being goalless at half-time.

And Cresswell said that he was frustrated with how his players buckled once the hosts had got themselves in front.

He said: “I’m disappointed and frustrated to be honest, especially with the last 30 minutes.

"I think before that, as a team we worked well, stayed together, limited their opportunities to a minimum.

"But then they got the first goal, where we’ve got to do better on the edge of the box because we’d dealt with that all afternoon and when we didn’t, they scored.

"From then on we were in a bit of trouble and that’s something we need to look at.

"Where we want to go to, we might get a few blips like that because we’re going to look at different things; I used the cup game as a reason to change things and we did that, and the players answered some questions that we needed to see as coaches.

"So moving forward we have to learn from today and put the wrongs right for the next game.”

That next game takes Matlock north to Hebburn Town, who have started the season well and lie third in the NPL Premier Division table.

Cresswell added: “We’ll have a positive week’s training and stick to the plan of not veering off individually, which I think happened at Stourbridge.

“Hebburn are a solid outfit that have been together for three years, have just come up to this level and are progressing nicely.

"So we know what their dangers are and just need to try and stop them.”

Meanwhile, Matlock added winger Sam Smart to their squad ahead of the game at Stourbridge.

Smart has spent time with clubs including Eastleigh, Dagenham & Redbridge, Brackley Town, Buxton and Boston United, most recently being at Farnborough from where he has now joined the Gladiators.

*Matlock Town supporter suffers cardiac arrest prior to cup tie – see page three.