Farnham Town manager Paul Johnson couldn’t hide his disappointment after his side’s record-equalling FA Vase run ended with a 2-1 defeat at home to Bridgwater United on Saturday in the fourth round proper.

A bumper crowd of 867 at The Memorial Ground saw Farnham exit the national competition at the last-32 stage.

The visitors took the lead in the 64th minute through Tom Llewellyn’s fine free kick.

Farnham were reduced to ten men on 78 minutes when Owen Dean was sent off for a strong tackle, but the hosts equalised in the 87th minute through Ryan Kinnane’s header. Bridgwater regained the lead on 88 minutes when George King’s shot went in off the inside of the post.

“It was a game that lacked any real quality,” said Johnson.

“It’s disappointing but it’s cup football and you win or lose. We’re out, so we dust ourselves down and move on to the league.

“We didn’t get going. I thought we had enough on the pitch to win the game, but we fell short with the quality. We had one too many that weren’t on it or didn’t really look a threat all game.

“I think they wanted it a little bit more than we did.”

Johnson admitted he didn’t have the best view of the challenge which led to Dean being sent off, but he refused to complain about the decision.

“We’re the other side of the pitch and were blindside to it,” said Johnson.

“He went in with a lot of force. The referee was quick to give the red, so it’s one of those decisions you’ve got to live with.

“We’ve got on with it, and we got back in the game with a goal.

“Thirty seconds later we find ourselves behind again, and after that you deserve to go out.

“The players wanted to go far in this competition. I think some of them let themselves down.”

Town will continue their push for promotion from the Combined Counties Premier Division South with a trip to AFC Croydon Athletic on Saturday (3pm).

Farnham are top of the league after winning their first 17 games, but Johnson is expecting a difficult test for his side.

“It’s probably not the game you want going over there, but it’s a great opportunity to bounce straight back and put a marker down,” he said.

Farnham continued their perfect start to their Combined Counties Premier Division South campaign with a 2-1 victory at Redhill last Tuesday night (January 9).

Darryl Sanders gave Town the lead in the 52nd minute with a superb free kick.

Sanders doubled Farnham’s advantage on 83 minutes, before Reyon Dillon pulled a goal back for Redhill in stoppage time.