DURING the second half of their FA Cup tie on Saturday, Roger Herridge yelled to his Binfield players ‘Come on, you are playing for your pride’, writes Dave Wright.

At the time, the Moles were trailing 3-0 to an excellent Cirencester side, but they took the manager’s message on board and emerged with some credit from this tough second qualifying round tie.

However, his pre-match warning that it was important to stop Ben Whitehead must have fallen on deaf ears as the hot-shot scored two of his side’s goals, taking his season’s tally to 10 in eight games.

Binfield started well and also looked decent in the later stages, but for a large portion of the game, they were made to look second best by their opponents who play at a level above them.

Even before the game, Binfield’s hopes of causing an upset were virtually nil, with Herridge struggling to field a competitive side due to suspensions, injuries and unavailability.

Had they been up against a fellow Hellenic League side, the Moles would probably have given a better account of themselves, but they had no chance against a solid-looking Southern League outfit.

Cirencester, sharper on and off the ball, were more constructive with their moves and had the answers to the few questions asked of them by their hosts.

Yet, the opening stages suggested the Moles may have something to offer, with Carlo Santoro going close following Jemel Johnson’s right-wing cross and the winger then producing an electrifying run down the left flank which saw him move into the area, only to lose possession as he looked to play in Eddie Lee.

But it soon became clear that Centurions had much more ‌in their armoury as they began to expose frailties in the home defence.

Their first goal, after 12 minutes, came when Louis Spalding delivered a long cross from the left and there was no defender near Alan Griffin at the far post, enabling him to head home unchallenged.

After Santoro had gone close again, the Binfield defence was again exposed in the 23rd minute. They conceded a free-kick 25 yards out and Mike Pook threaded the ball through the left channel for Whitehead to collect and turn past keeper Chris Grace.

And just after the half-hour mark, they were turned inside out as Whitehead added his second and Cirencester’s third.

Binfield did produce the occasional counter-attack, but never really looked like scoring and the half-time whistle could not have come sooner enough for Herridge to give him the chance to sort things out.

He made two substitutions, replacing Liam Gavin and Tafari Downes with former Moles star Josh Howell and Khalid Senussi.

Now with Thatcham, Howell has been dual registered and it was perhaps a little surprising that he was not in the team right from the start. He is an intelligent player and can make things happen, as can the equally experienced Senussi.

While fortunate not to have conceded one or two more goals in the first five minutes of the second half, Binfield produced a much improved second-half performance.

The two substitutes combined to set up a chance for Lee, who headed wide and the same player was off target with another header, this time from Johnson’s cross, while Senussi fired inches over the bar.

The Moles, at last, started to show the pride demanded by Herridge and, with a full-strength side, they may have even have run Cirencester a lot closer.

Having been knocked out of two FA competitions in successive weeks, Binfield will be expecting for better luck in the Bluefin Sports Hellenic League Cup when they host Bourton Rovers, currently fourth in Division Two West, on Saturday (3pm).