Eccleshill United failed to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Carlsberg Vase when an indifferent performance allowed Vauxhall to make home advantage count and win 2-0.

The Ellesmere Port club, backed by the wealth of the General Motors corporation, reached this stage last season only to be beaten by Thame in Oxfordshire. But they went one better this year.

United manager Ray Price believes his side may have been beaten by the eventual winners. "Let's hope they do us a favour and go on and win it," he said after watching his own side under-achieve.

"We were second best and can have no complaints. They were the better side on the day. It is not the result that hurts me, it is our performance.

"We are better than we showed, but five or six of us were not at the races.

"I am disappointed we didn't perform as a unit, but a lot of that is down to me. I pick the team, I tell them the tactics, so I have to take a lot of the blame as well."

Skipper Darren Hamer echoed the sentiments of his boss on the performance.

"We just didn't get going out there, we didn't gel," he said. "It was one of the most frustrating games I have ever been involved in.

"I think the occasion got to some of the lads - one or two froze - and we gave Vauxhall too much of a start.

"One of their lads said at the end 'Don't be too hard on yourselves, it was a close game'. I don't see it that way. They don't know how lucky they were to catch us on an off-day as bad as that."

The pitch at Rivacre Park was like a bowling green and ,despite a stiff breeze, conditions were perfect. The crowd was swelled to over three times the average, and a good proportion of them had travelled from Bradford.

The home side had enjoyed the game's first real spell of pressure before they took the lead midway through the first half with a great goal.

The ball was rolled in from the left flank to the corner of United's area and Greg Blundell dispatched a thunderous shot which a full-length Craig Bates could not reach.

Vauxhall keeper Steve Hilton was tested by a free kick from Mark Senior and was then relieved to see a 12-yard shot from Gary Shaw go tamely wide after the centre back had powered his way into the area.

Just before the hour United's top scorer Stuart Taylor came close to equalising. His low shot hit the foot of Hilton's post and ran across the line before being hacked clear.

Two minutes later Blundell was presented with a clear chance after a cut-back had bisected two United defenders and, with only Bates to beat, he shot home.

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