MANAGER Ian Long was left to rue poor refereeing decisions as Stourbridge saw their FA Cup dream end at Eastleigh.
The Glassboys suffered a 3-0 first round replay defeat after having Jordan Williams sent off against their National League opponents on Tuesday night.
The tie was goalless at half time and it took a penalty from Scott Rendell just two minutes after the restart to break the deadlock.
Stour’s task was made even harder as Williams was then given his marching orders by referee Peter Gibbons just past the hour mark.
Goals from Sam Smart and Reda Johnson wrapped up the tie for Eastleigh, who now progress to a televised second round clash with Crewe Alexandra.
It was the contentious penalty decision at the start of the second half that's the hardest pill to swallow for the Stourbridge boss.
He said: "I do think they were the better side over the 90 minutes but big decisions change games.
"We were doing okay at the time and had chances ourselves to take the lead but then the penalty decision really hurts us. I thought it was a game we had to take the lead in because all of a sudden we are chasing the game away from home against a full-time side.
"I thought there was a foul on Alex Nicholls in the build-up but then they go up the pitch and the ref gives a penalty.
"It looked like there was minimal contact, he stumbles a little and then goes down.
"There was a challenge on Tom Tonks in the first half that was a red card but the ref gave a yellow. Their player has gone over the top of the ball and Tonksy has stud marks down both shins.
"I can't complain about the sending off of Jordan Williams because the ref has no choice after giving the foul with their player through on goal. The big problem is that it came from a poor ball from Ash Carter and these defensive errors are something we still need to cut out.
"We've missed out on a massive payday for the club but all we can do now is bounce back."
Stour now go to Lancaster City in the FA Trophy this Saturday.
"There are plenty of big games in this competition and the win is also worth decent money to the club, so that's all the motivation the players should need," added Long.
"I don't want us to go on a losing run now."
Stour will be without Ryan Winwood (thigh) this Saturday but Williams will play his last game before his suspension kicks in.
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