BASINGSTOKE Town crashed out of the FA Cup in a performance which manager Dan Brownlie described as ‘flat’.

‘Stoke welcomed Sholing to Winklebury on Saturday in the FA Cup First Round Qualifying, in what they hoped wouldn’t repeat of previous years.

The Dragons welcomed back Dan Warre and Flynn Bolton was available to make his debut, while academy player Aleks Kokoszka earned another match day squad inclusion.

It looked like the home side were going to take an early lead on 11 minutes, but George Reid’s shot was deflected just wide of the post.

‘Stoke fans didn’t have to wait long for a goal as Liam Ferdinand gave Town the lead on 32 minutes, heading the ball over the keeper.

Just six minutes later Sholing equalised when Benny Read raced into the box and his pull back to the edge of the area was swept in first time by Charlie Gunson (1-1).

Sholing continued to press forward and dominated the second half and Lee Wort put the Southampton side in front when he poked home in a crowded box on 57 minutes (1-2).

The Boatmen extended their lead just two minutes later when Dan Mason held off numerous challenges in the box before slotting past the keeper (1-3).

Despite a number of substitutions ‘Stoke were unable to get back into the game.

Speaking after the match, manager Dan Brownlie said: “Recent tradition hasn’t been particularly great for this club with the FA Cup, it is something we do want to change. The difficulty is that you only get one go at it a year, and it’s a cruel sport in that sense.”

Brownlie said that ‘Stoke came up against a ‘good side’, describing that Sholing were ‘good value for their win’.

He continued: “Everything just felt flat today, there was no tempo to our game. The energy that we’ve drawn great success from over the course of the last few weeks just wasn’t there.

“There’s an awful lot to work on but it’s a blotch, one game, on a line-up of good performances, so we won’t get too despondent, but we are disappointed.”

'Stoke are away from home to AFC Totton on Saturday. Kick-off 3pm.