Boss Paul Collicutt called for some “soul searching” at Evesham United after Sunday’s FA Trophy exit against Cirencester Town according to the Worcester News.

The Robins let slip a second-half lead to lose 3-2 to their Southern League West rivals with Lewis Powell’s injury-time header, his second of the game, not enough to speak a late fightback.

And the manager urged his squad to reflect upon the off-colour display ahead of Saturday’s home league fixture with Didcot Town (3pm).

“The big plus was Lewis’s two goals which he took really well but there was not a lot else for me to take out the game,” said Collicutt. “It was difficult to stomach. I have never been the best of people when it comes to losing games but we have had to take it. What matters now is how we react to it on Saturday.

“You can be quite hot headed after a game. We will take our time, train on Wednesday and think about how to set up against Didcot. “We do have options but a lot of soul searching has to happen among the lads who played because not too many came out of it very well.”

Collicutt refused to point the finger of blame at individuals in spite of goalkeeper Kevin Sawyer allowing a shot to skip through his hands with the score at 1-1. “Kev sets high standards. Perhaps he could have done better with the second but that said, so could the players in front of him. “I would be the first to back up Kev. He has saved us many times so I am not looking to point the finger at him at all, the big thing for me was what happened in front of him.”

United have fallen at the first hurdle in both FA competitions this season, denying them the opportunity to bring in prize money.  “I would say it hurts because every club at this level needs revenue,” said Collicutt. “Unfortunately we have failed in both competitions. Sunday was disappointing, especially as we had a good crowd.”