New Milton Town’s FA Vase adventure ended in frustration as the Division One leaders were edged out 1-0 by Downton, fourth in the league above, after a late goal settled Saturday’s second-round tie.

The Brickies matched their higher-ranked hosts, hit the woodwork and created several good chances, but were ultimately denied by former Bashley goalkeeper Ross Casey.

Manager Jamie Kay was immensely proud of his side’s progress after they had already beaten two teams from the division above.

“I think you have to look at where we’ve come from… If I had told you at the start of the season that we would have made it this far after beating two teams from the league above, and then given a third, and all of them were teams doing well, well, I couldn’t be prouder.”

After a goalless first half, New Milton threatened through Cal Clarke, while Lloyd Thomas was also called into action at the other end.

The game opened up after the break, with Casey producing a superb double save to deny Noel McCarthy-Gardiner and Callum McHale.

Kay felt his side had created enough to progress. “The game was a classic cup match – it was end to end, but I thought we created more chances and looked more comfortable for large parts of the game, but ultimately, it comes down to one moment, so congratulations to Downton, as it’s all about making it through in cup matches.”

New Milton came agonisingly close when Luca Lane’s long-range effort beat Casey but rebounded off the post.

Downton immediately broke forward and made them pay, with Ben Satterley setting up Liam Farrugia to finish low beyond Thomas.

The Brickies pushed hard for an equaliser, but Casey again denied substitute Cal Clarke, while referee Steve Gilbert waved away a late penalty appeal after Callum McHale went down under a challenge.

Kay said: “If we’d had this fixture a few months ago, we may have come into it a little bit timidly, but because of how well the boys have gelled, how well we’ve done, all the work that’s gone into it from the management team regarding the details and the culture, making as much effort as we can to make New Milton a good club to be, and these moments come with that, and I’m proud of how far we came.

“Our journey may have come to an end, but there’s always next year!”

New Milton return to league action against Romsey Town at the GD Print Stadium on Saturday, with the kick-off at 3pm.

New Milton: L. Thomas, E. Pearce-Evis, C. Smith, J. Broad, C. McHale, C. Clarke, N. McCarthy-Gardiner, L. Lane, D. Husher, J. Carswell, C. Burns. Subs: O. Lowes, H. Swager, P. Almeida, J. Roberts, H. Rayner.