AFC Fylde manager Dave Challinor could not hide his disappointment following the FA Cup exit at Alfreton Town on Saturday.

Despite enjoying the vast majority of the possession and goalmouth action at the Impact Arena, the Coasters went down 1-0 and Challinor lamented his side’s luck in front of goal.

“I’m always disappointed to lose at anything. I suppose it could’ve come in worse circumstances if you’re being brutally honest, but I’m not going to hide behind ‘concentrating on the league’ and things like that.

“We probably could’ve been there all night and not scored but sometimes that’s how it happens. It certainly wasn’t for the want of trying. We could have been better but we’ve not had one bit of luck in front of their goal and how we’ve not scored over the course of 90 minutes is mind blowing.

“I suppose there’s lots of ifs, buts, maybes in terms of momentum and cup runs, but I’ve always said, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out that we’re not going to win the FA Cup. That’s first and foremost.

“The FA Cup gives an opportunity for smaller clubs to be pitted against bigger clubs which I think is great. Do I think they can run side-by-side? Absolutely, and we’ve had some great experiences in the last four or five years and personally I’ve had some great experiences in the FA Cup. It’s a fantastic tournament to be in.

“Would I change a good cup run for our ultimate aim which is promotion? Absolutely not. Would I have taken a win today with the consequence of getting a few players injured? Absolutely not. We came here wanting to win, first and foremost, and we’ve not done that so we’re disappointed because we want to win every game. Whether we change players up, change systems, change personnel, we still want to win every game.”