Graham Malcolm felt his Flackwell Heath side “imploded” as their fairytale run in the FA Vase came to an end with a 3-2 defeat to Shaw Lane Aquaforce in the last 16 on Saturday.

The Heathens looked destined to book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition after goals from strike duo Gavin James and Dan Burnell had put them 2-1 up.

But two goals in three second half minutes saw the Barnsley based outfit through to the last eight at the expense of Flackwell, leaving manager Malcolm to rue what might have been.

He said: “We shouldn’t have got beat, we blew it. We had five minutes where, for want of a better term, we imploded. We were 2-1 up on the heaviest pitch in the world, comfortable and for some strange reason, completely out of character, we just imploded for five minutes.

“We had a back pass that went straight to one of their players which was almost kids stuff, and we had a mix-up around the edge of our box for the other goal.

“From nowhere they’ve scored two goals within two minutes and we just couldn’t come back from those two mistakes which deflated the side.”

The scene of Heath’s demise was the northern side’s Shaw Lane ground, which after seeing heavy snowfall in recent weeks provided a surface which Malcolm described as “awful”.

But, despite questioning whether the game should have gone ahead, the Flackwell manager was adamant the state of the pitch was no excuse for the final outcome, instead sighting defensive lapses for their cup exit.

“I’m disappointed because their manager said we were the best team they’ve played; he didn’t think at 2-1 that they were going to get back in it. They needed a spark and that spark was us,” he said.

“We gave them something to grab onto and that’s disappointing because if we’d got beat by a couple of good goals you’ve got to hold your hands up, but we didn’t do our jobs and paid the ultimate price which is that we’re out.

“It’s most unlike us and it’s never happened in the 35-36 games that we’ve played this season. At 2-1 up with ten minutes to go, and them not really looking like scoring, we were in the perfect position.”

The defeat was the club’s first in any competition since early October, bringing to an end a 22-match unbeaten run which included 20 wins.

Whilst Malcolm was bitterly disappointed to have exited the FA Vase, the Reds manager has already set his sights on success in the Hellenic Premier Division.

Their exertions in the cups this campaign mean Heath have played nine games less than table toppers Highmoor Ibis, but Flackwell can go top if they maintain their current form which has seen them lose only once in the league this season.

Malcolm said: “I think now is the time to say it that we need to go and win this league. The priority now has to be the league.

“We have to prioritise this league, play catch-up and win as many games as we can in the hope that Highmoor will lose a couple whilst we’re winning.”