Exasperated at half-time, but happier, at least to some degree, at full-time, writes Dave Wright.

Binfield manager Roger Herridge experienced a roller-coaster of a ride on Saturday.

His side endured a nightmare of a first half against Southern League outfit Cirencester to trail 3-0, but managed to keep a clean sheet for the rest of their FA Cup tie at Hill Farm Lane.

But Herridge admitted: “Over 90 minutes they fully deserved their win and were three goals better than us.”

His cup woes had started well in advance of this second qualifying round encounter when he realised he would be without more than half of his regular side due to suspension, injury and unavailability.

“We were missing several key players and that showed big time in the first half,” he said. “There are not many sides who can lose five or six of their starting line-up and win games, especially against very strong opponents.

“If we had a full-strength side out, it would still have been a tough game, but I am not sure if we would have conceded those goals in the first half “The first goal came from a cross which came in too easily and their big No 9 was left with a free header, the second goal was down to players switching off and the third was down to us allowing their lad to run through our midfield like they were not there. You simply cannot concede soft goals like that.”

Herridge made two changes at half-time, bringing on Khalid Senussi and Josh Howell, the latter returning to the club on a dual-registration with Thatcham.

“We improved a lot in the second half,” said the Moles manager. “We could have collapsed like a deck of cards, but we didn’t – so I was pleased with that.

“We passed the ball nicely, we had a bit of spark about us and created four or five really great chances, but the damage had already been done.”

With players nursing injuries – leading scorer Ian Davies being among the long-term casualties – Herridge is considering strengthening his squad, saying: “I may need to find a couple of players who are going to improve us, but they have got to be available and want to join.”