The Lilywhites were cruelly knocked out of the Isuzu FA Vase on Saturday afternoon as Eastwood CFC progressed after a dramatic penalty shoot-out at the MKM Stadium.

Following last weekend's Emirates FA Cup defeat to Retford FC, Gary King made three changes to his starting line-up as we looked to bounce back and book our place in the next round of the Vase.

Jake Sykes was handed his first start between the posts, with regular stopper Lovelace injured. Luke Rayner-Mistry and Dec Johnson also came into the starting XI. Josh Morrall took his place on the bench, whilst Joe Braithwaite was out with an injury.

We started brightly and took the lead from the penalty spot on 23 minutes. Jordan Nuttell was brought down inside the Eastwood penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot. Matt Clarke stepped up and calmly converted, to give us a 1–0 advantage.

Eastwood responded and drew level on 36 minutes. Tyler Blake headed home to bring the visitors back on level terms.

The score remained 1–1 through the remainder of the contest, with neither side able to find the decisive second goal.

That meant the tie would be settled from 12 yards. And there was no shortage of drama.

New goalkeeper Sykes produced two penalty saves to keep us alive in the shoot-out and give the Lilywhites hope of progressing. However, Eastwood goalkeeper Scott Loach proved to be the difference.

The highly experienced goalkeeper saved three of our penalties before taking matters into his own hands. With the shoot-out finely poised, Loach stepped up to take Eastwood's decisive penalty himself, and calmly converted to seal a 4–3 victory for the visitors.

It was a hugely frustrating way for us to exit the FA Vase, particularly after Sykes had twice kept the Lilywhites in the contest from the penalty spot. Ultimately it was Loach's experience that decided the tie as Eastwood booked their place in the next round.

For the Lilywhites, it was a case of fine margins once again as we were left to reflect on a game that finished level after 90 minutes, only to suffer the disappointment of a penalty shoot-out defeat.

Team: Jake Sykes, Luke Rayner-Mistry, Kyle Radford (90' Josh Morrall), Matt Clarke, Bailey Forth, Kieran Wressell, Lucas Dakin, Declan Johnson (89' Matt Ward), Jordan Nuttell (70' Toby Cotton) , McCauley Parker (C), Liam Adams.

Subs not used: Ollie Callaby, Jamie Robinson