MANAGER Roger Herridge offered no excuses after seeing his Binfield side hammered 5-0 by Wembley-bound Thatcham Town at Hill Farm Lane on Saturday, writes Dave Wright.

But he is hoping his young players will learn from the experience of playing against a side “at the top of their game.”

Herridge added: “Thatcham are among the top Level 5 sides in the whole country. They have proved that by reaching the final of the FA Vase.

“They are a great team playing with a lot of confidence.

“They are going to be promoted and I think they will do well at the level above.”

Herridge continued: “Yet, for as good as they were, I don’t think we did ourselves justice.

“We gave ourselves an uphill battle by giving them a goal in the first minute, but at times, it was like men against boys in certain areas.

“They don’t have kids in their side.

“I am not sure we really made them work that hard and we never really tested their keeper.

“But I am sure we will learn from it and today’s result should not detract from what has been a good season for us.”

Thatcham manager Danny Robinson – fresh from a guided tour of Wembley Stadium last Friday – offered some consolation for Binfield by describing them as a “quality” side and Herridge had “done a fantastic job there.”

If the Moles boss was looking for a positive reaction from his players at Highmoor Ibis on Monday evening, then he was out of luck as his side slumped to a 3-2 defeat.

“Once again we conceded an early goal and that gave us a mountain to climb,” said Herridge.

“I think we played the better football, but they went route one and that proved effective in the end.

“Their front two (Anthony White and Mitchell Parker) were a real handful. Parker is right at the top of his game, he was almost unplayable.

“We are still conceding too many goals, but that has been the case for much of this season.”